By Jing Villamente,Jonas Reyes,Rico Osmeña

Copyright tribune

As severe tropical storm “Opong” hammered parts of Southern Luzon and the Visayas, authorities evacuated hundreds of thousands of residents, suspended sea travel, and deployed food and rescue teams across the hardest-hit areas. Massive evacuations in BicolIn the Bicol region, the Coast Guard District Bicol (CGDBCL) led the evacuation of over 215,000 individuals as part of a large-scale, preemptive response to Opong’s impact.Working alongside local government units and partner agencies, CGDBCL’s Deployable Response Groups moved families to safer ground while also assisting in the repacking and distribution of relief goods.Operations weren’t limited to evacuations.Coast Guard personnel also responded to stranded passengers and cargo — 3,126 individuals, 1,266 rolling cargoes, and six vessels were reported stranded. At the same time, 67 vessels and 34 motorbancas were forced to take shelter due to rough seas.More than 480 CGDBCL personnel have been deployed across Bicol’s provinces to support ongoing search and rescue missions, distribute aid, and ensure affected communities get the help they need.Cebu, Visayas also feel Opong’s wrathIn Cebu province, Gov. Pamela Baricuatro quickly mobilized aid, sending 2,000 initial food packs to areas impacted by “Opong.”The towns of Sta. Fe and Madridejos on Bantayan Island saw hundreds of families evacuated to barangay halls and local schools, with Madridejos alone recording over 1,800 evacuees.In Bogo City, trips from Polambato Port to Masbate were cancelled, leaving 20 passengers stranded, while evacuation centers in several barangays housed displaced families.Further north, San Remigio suspended vessel trips to Bantayan and Masbate, temporarily sheltering 94 stranded individuals, while in Daanbantayan, 139 passengers were stranded after trips to Malapascua Island were cancelled.Tabuelan, Tudela and Poro in Camotes Island also reported evacuations, with over 117 families seeking shelter. Tragically, in Poro, one person was reported missing — a 36-year-old man from Sitio Ginkan-an, Barangay Cagcagan.In Alegria town, adventure tourism activities like canyoneering were suspended as a precaution.Governor Baricuatro confirmed that food packs were already sent to Daanbantayan and Medellin, with more en route to Bantayan and Camotes Islands.DSWD: ‘No one should go hungry’At the national level, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) continues to respond with ready-to-eat food (RTEF) and relief packs, especially for stranded passengers and evacuees.Through a prepositioning partnership with the Philippine Ports Authority, DSWD distributed meals to passengers stranded at North Port Terminal in Manila, where numerous trips were cancelled ahead of the storm.DSWD spokesperson Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao assured the public that the agency’s warehouses remain well-stocked, with over 2.5 million family food packs and P800 million worth of non-food items ready for deployment nationwide.The agency’s Field Office 5 in Bicol also conducted on-ground assessments, especially for vulnerable groups — children, pregnant women, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities — to ensure their needs are met in evacuation centers.As of the latest DROMIC report, over 1.1 million individuals across 12 regions have been affected by Opong and the compounded impact of recent weather systems like Tropical Cyclones Mirasol and Nando, and the intensified southwest monsoon (habagat).