Even Malacañang has opened its doors to the thousands of people left homeless due to the devastation of typhoon Ondoy in NCR and other nearby provinces. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo coaxed the evacuees to leave the crowded evacuation centers and take refuge to Malacañang.
And if necessary, the evacuees would even be accommodated at the Ceremonial Hall in Malacañang, where the President hosts the vin d’honneur for foreign dignitaries. This way, it would lessen the congestion at the temporary shelters of the typhoon victims.
“All of us are not prepared for this. Everything was done in a scramble,” Press Secretary Cerge Remonde told reporters about the change of plans. “It was a work in progress. We adjust as we go along.”
17 families or 103 people from Tatalon occupied the ground and second floors of Malacañang’s five-storey Mabini Hall, where the Office of the Executive Secretary is located. Some 700 families were forced to leave their homes because of the rising floodwaters and seek shelter at the Diosdado Macapagal Elementary School.
“The idea is to reduce the crowd in the evacuation center and prevent diseases,” said social welfare officer Cindy Calma.
The Mabini Hall can accommodate at least 100 families or 500 people from Tatalon or Pasig City, said Presidential Management Staff Secretary Hermogenes Esperon. “We are addressing the overflow of evacuees from the evacuation centers,” he told reporters.
If necessary, the carpeted Ceremonial Hall may also be open to 10 families or 50 people, Esperon said.
He pointed out that their stay in Malacañang would depend on how soon the situation would normalize so that they could return home.
