Rowegie Abanto

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Education Secretary Sonny Angara, along with Cabinet Secretaries Vince Dizon and Rex Gatchalian, and Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo, visited public schools damaged by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in General Santos City on June 10, 2026. Marcos inspected Romana Acharon Elementary School and General Santos City National High School, which were damaged by the strong quake. Marcos also took the opportunity to check on affected educators and personnel. DepEd Handout

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Education Secretary Sonny Angara, along with Cabinet Secretaries Vince Dizon and Rex Gatchalian, and Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo, visited public schools damaged by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in General Santos City on June 10, 2026.
Marcos inspected Romana Acharon Elementary School and General Santos City National High School, which were damaged by the strong quake. Marcos also took the opportunity to check on affected educators and personnel.
DepEd Handout

Article (news)

MINDANAO EARTHQUAKE- GEN SAN- SCHOOLS

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/178514722400320260610-earthquake-gensan-damaged-schools-DepEd4.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Education Secretary Sonny Angara, along with Cabinet Secretaries Vince Dizon and Rex Gatchalian, and Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo, visited public schools damaged by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in General Santos City on June 10, 2026. DepEd handout/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Education Secretary Sonny Angara, along with Cabinet Secretaries Vince Dizon and Rex Gatchalian, and Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo, visited public schools damaged by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in General Santos City on June 10, 2026. <em>DepEd handout/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA (<strong>UPDATED</strong>) — Delivering aid to disaster-stricken communities is now possible &quot;under 24 hours&quot; with the government&#x27;s new approach to calamities, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.</p><p>&quot;We have moved on from the reactive approach. Now, we’re not only proactive, but predictive as well, aided by digital tools,&quot; Marcos said.</p><p>&quot;The strategies of public-private supply chains, hubs-and-spokes warehousing, automated production, and widescale pre-positioning of food and non-food supplies in LGUs (local government units), have proven their efficacy.&quot;</p><p>He said that his government has established a disaster response infrastructure across the country, which enables the &quot;delivery of emergency nourishment and relief to target areas&quot; in only less than a day.</p><p>The Philippines is <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/4/ph-ranks-first-in-2025-world-risk-index-on-vulnerability-to-flooding-1644">one of the most disaster-prone countries</a> in the world, as it has regularly been hit with storms, flooding, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. </p><p>Just last month, Mindanao was struck by a deadly magnitude 7.8 earthquake, the strongest tremor to shake the nation in decades.</p><p>Marcos last year signed a law allowing the government to declare a &quot;State of Imminent Disaster&quot; to perform advance preparations and emergency actions within communities.</p><p>&quot;At dahil mayroon na tayong konsepto ng State of Imminent Disaster, hindi na natin hihintayin na mangyari ang sakuna. Aagapan natin ang paghahanda at pagresponde,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;And so, taking all these lessons to heart, our overarching mission and all our conscious efforts henceforth must not be to simply uplift, but to ensure security and self-sufficiency of our nation and of our fellow Filipinos.</p><p>In reaction to Marcos&#x27; SONA, Aksyon Klima Pilipinas, a civil society coordination network for climate action, pointed out that the president did not mention the possible emergence of a &quot;super&quot; El Niño, despite the phenomenon&#x27;s potential impact later this year.</p><p>&quot;There is a Super El Niño coming to our country during the final months of 2026, which is usually the time of the year when strong typhoons also hit in recent years. Yet the closest to a plan to address this that the President said in his speech is the construction of more evacuation centers?&quot; it said in a statement.</p><p>The group said that while proper evacuation centers are needed as part of disaster response of the government, &quot;ignoring this possibility of &#x27;super&#x27;-disasters can be seen as the administration trying to prevent panic among Filipinos - or not seeing this critical issue as a priority.&quot;</p><p>&quot;This would be a mistake that this government is making, with so much of our economy and society to be heavily affected - food security, water sufficiency, farmers, fisherfolk communities, among others,&quot; Aksyon Klima Pilipinas said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>OTHER SONA STORIES:</strong></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/27/marcos-says-multiple-charges-vs-romualdez-to-be-filed-soon-1621">&#x27;Hindi ako pangulo ng aking pamilya&#x27;: Marcos says multiple charges vs Romualdez to be filed soon</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/7/27/marcos-wants-systems-loss-charges-removed-from-electricity-bill-rooftop-solar-made-easier-1727">Marcos wants systems loss charges removed from electricity bill, rooftop solar made easier</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/7/27/marcos-seeks-tax-relief-for-individuals-small-businesses-1654">Marcos seeks tax relief for individuals, small businesses</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>WATCH:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="960" height="540" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h4DX6JuTpOE?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Delivering aid to disaster-stricken communities is now possible "under 24 hours" with the government's new approach to calamities, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in his fifth State of the Nation Address on Monday.</p>

Delivering aid to disaster-stricken communities is now possible "under 24 hours" with the government's new approach to calamities, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in his fifth State of the Nation Address on Monday.

Marcos: Relief to disaster-stricken areas now possible 'under 24 hours'

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Marcos: Relief to disaster-stricken areas now possible 'under 24 hours'

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 27, 2026 06:36 PM PHT

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Updated July 27, 2026 07:01 PM PHT

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SONA

SONA 2026

Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

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