Speech by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at the 10th Year Yolanda Commemoration Anniversary | President Bongbong Marcos

Thank you for that introduction, Speaker Martin Romualdez. [Please take your seats.]

The Excellencies and other members of the Diplomatic Corps who are here representing the countries who came to our aid in the depths of our difficulties after Yolanda. I know that everyone here had a part to play in the recovery but we cannot overstate the importance of the efforts of the different countries who came to the Philippines to assist – the NGOs, the international NGOs, the local NGOs that came and helped with the rebuilding and the rehabilitation and the recovery.

I remember very well how we were at a complete loss in the days following Yolanda. How do we – where do we get relief goods? How do we bring them? How do we transport them to the people that are in need?

I remember when I first arrived in Tacloban, there were three vehicles in the whole of Leyte that were still functioning and these were the people who came, the NGOs, the different countries. Even the private corporations who came and helped us in every way that they could, in both the relief – both in the rescue and even in the rehabilitation and the rebuilding of Tacloban.

And for that, they would come and they would bring all that we needed. They would bring relief goods. They will bring water. They would bring water purifiers. They would bring fuel. They would bring transportation. And we could not have survived without that.

And so it is impossible to overstate how important it is to us what you did for us after Yolanda and in the years subsequent to Yolanda where you never left us. You stayed with us and stayed with us for years until you could see that we had recovered. And for that, we owe you a debt of gratitude that we will never be able to repay. [applause]

Also here is – we will introduce our now DENR Secretary who was then in the Manila Observatory. She was – nauna po siya. They were the first to forecast how strong Yolanda was going to become. And we could not believe the figures that she was saying that umabot ng 370 km gusts. And up to now, we have not seen that kind of weather anywhere around the world and that is why we have now recognized that this was the onset of the worst effects of