President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos talks with members of the media who are joining his trip in San Francisco, California. (Photo from NESTOR CORRALES /Philippine Daily Inquirer)
SAN FRANCISCO — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said there was no need to cut short his week-long trip to the United States following the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Mindanao on Friday afternoon.
Speaking to reporters in San Francisco, the President said he was relieved that government agencies “do not need directives from me anymore.”
“They know what to do,” he told journalists covering him as he attends the Asia Pacific Cooperation Summit.
“Well, if there’s something that needs to be done that cannot be done by anybody but myself, I will go home,” he said.
“But, as I said, they know what to do,” he repeated.
Marcos said, “we tried to organize the government in such a way that these are standard operating procedures already.”
He was referring to actions government agencies must do following a disaster.
“You don’t have to question what do we do next. Everything is ready,” he said.
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Interior and Local Government, and other agencies have been reporting to him about the situation in the calamity areas.
He said government will “keep looking and see and determine, and assess what the damage really has been.”
The Chief Executive left Philippines on November 14 (Tuesday) to attend the Apec Summit.
The event is an annual gathering of leaders from the region’s 21-member economies.
After his trip in San Francisco, his next destinations are Los Angeles and Hawaii for working visits.
The President is scheduled to return to Manila on November 20 (Monday).
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