The chief of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) was among those who were not spared by the floods brought by rains as an effect of Tropical Storm Enteng (international name: Yagi) and the southwest monsoon.
PAOCC Chief Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz on Monday, September 2 shared a video of him using a wooden dresser as a makeshift transportation to go to work from his residence in Cainta, Rizal.
He was being carried by men wading in floodwaters that appeared to be chest-high.
In his video, it can be seen that other residents were also transported in the same manner.
“Ito na ‘yung pinakamagandang sasakyan dito,” Cruz said to the camera.
A man in the background agreed with him.
Someone also said that the dresser they were using to transport the government official had wheels, making it easier for them to carry the occupant.
The PAOCC office is located in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
Meanwhile, Cruz lives in Cainta, a municipality in the Rizal province in which some parts often get flooded during heavy rainfall, even without the threat of tropical cyclones.
In 2020, severe flooding caused by Typhoon Ulysses in the area prompted some residents to recall the wrath of Tropical Storm Ondoy, one of the most devastating tropical cyclones in 2009.
Cainta was among the municipalities near Metro Manila which was heavily flooded during “Ondoy.”
Typing the phrase “Cainta flood” in a search engine leads to new and old reports of the municipality consistently suffering floods.
In 2022, its local government unit installed a new water catch basin facility to help ease the town’s flooding.
From a geographical perspective, some parts of Cainta, Taytay, Pasig, and Marikina are considered catch basins of floodwaters from the uplands of Rizal, Laguna, and the Quezon province.
Meanwhile, Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 is still hoisted over Rizal, according to the 5 p.m. advisory of state weather bureau PAGASA.
It also said that “Enteng” is forecast to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Wednesday, September 4.
The tropical cyclone is also enhancing the southwest monsoon or habagat, which is expected to bring moderate to intense rainfall in parts of Luzon and Visayas for the next three days.
ALSO READ: LIVE updates: Tropical cyclone ‘Enteng’
