Manila: The government has placed its disaster response machinery on full alert while some PHP1.6 billion in standby funds are in place as Tropical Depression Maymay (international name: Kujira) and the enhanced southwest monsoon (habagat) continue to bring heavy rains over parts of the country, Malaca±ang said Thursday.

According to Philippines News Agency, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has directed government agencies to ensure the safety of residents in affected areas and maintain a high state of preparedness. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) has been placed on full alert, with all member agencies implementing proactive measures to minimize the impact of the cyclone and the southwest monsoon.

Castro said authorities have also enforced strict preemptive evacuations in flood- and landslide-prone areas, as well as in coastal communities. In Metro Manila, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has deployed rescue personnel and equipment and is coordinating closely with disaster risk reduction offices and the region's 17 local government units, Castro said.

She added all 73 pumping stations in Metro Manila are operational, while mobile pumps have been prepositioned and preemptive pumping operations are underway to improve the carrying capacity of waterways. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has also begun distributing family food packs (FFPs), ready-to-eat food items and sleeping kits to affected areas, including Benguet, La Union, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Albay and Zamboanga City.

Castro said the government has prepositioned more than 5 million FFPs nationwide and has more than PHP1.6 billion in standby funds for disaster response. "Ang Pangulo at ang pamahalaan ay nakahanda sa anumang sakuna (The President and the government are ready for any disaster)," Castro said.

The Palace has suspended government work and classes at all levels in Metro Manila and 21 other provinces on Thursday due to continuous heavy rains. Maymay, then a tropical storm, made landfall over San Juan, Ilocos Sur at 4 a.m. It has weakened into a tropical depression as of 11 a.m. and is now over the vicinity of Tanudan, Kalinga.