State of national calamity declared in the Philippines

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Sunday declared a state of national calamity following the onslaught of the past three strong typhoons, including Reming which has recently battered Albay province and has so far caused over 300 deaths. National Disaster Coordinating Council executive officer and concurrent Office of the Civil Defense administrator Glenn Rabonza announced the President's declaration in a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo. Rabonza said the President, who chairs the NDCC and acting Defense Secretary, also ordered the release of P1 billion to fund relief and rehabilitation efforts by concerned agencies to mitigate the effects of super typhoons Milenyo, Paeng and Reming. Typhoon Reming ravaged the Bicol region and Southern Tagalog provinces. Some villages in Albay province had been buried in mud coming from lahar deposits of Mayon Volcano. Total deaths recorded now is 310, and is expected to go up as search and retrieval operations are ongoing. Typhoon Paeng battered Ilocos, Cagayan, Central Luzon, Bicol region and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), with 32 dead, 62 injured and 23 missing from Oct. 27-30. NDCC records show Paeng destroyed P1.2 billion worth of properties.