Landed from the Bicol Peninsula at 2:05 PM after visiting Virac, Catanduanes (Barrio Cabugao and San Vicente), where we landed by Fokker, then by PNB [Philippine National Bank] King Air to Legaspi which has a cemented runway of 1,060 meters (36 meters wide) and Imelda who had used the PNB King Air from Manila to Virac, using the Soriano longer and newer King Air to Legaspi; helicopter (Hueys—5 of them) to Tobaco, Malinao which we only hovered over, Tiwi, Polangui, Bato, Oas, then landed at Pili where we had a briefing at the Marcos Stadium, then helicoptered again to see the flooded areas of Naga City and the surrounding towns; I took off by Fokker for Manila at 1:20 PM to arrive at 2:05 PM.
It was heart-breaking to see the work of a decade go literally with the wind in an hour or two.
Official Gazette, October 17, 1970: President Marcos flew to the Bicol region to assess for himself the effects of typhoon “Sening.” Flying with him was the First Lady, Mrs. Imelda R. Marcos. Accompanied by Acting Executive Secretary Roberto V. Reyes, Press Secretary Francisco S. Tatad and U.S. AID Director Thomas Niblock, the President took off from Nichols Airbase at 6:45 a.m., arriving at Virac 55 minutes later. Even from the air, the appalling destruction was clearly visible, causing the President to compare the sight to a bombed area. The typhoon was the worst in memory to hit the region, local, people said.
The President and the First Lady, who had followed in another plane, were met by Secretary of Public Works and Communications Manuel B. Syquio, Rep. Jose Alberto and Gov. Vicente Alberto, and were taken to Barrio Kabugao in the town of Bato where not a single house was left standing. The President and his party went among the typhoon victims to assure them that “all that can be done wall be done.” At a briefing in Virac, he was informed that in Catanduanes alone, 58 were killed, 5-50 wounded, and 104,182 rendered homeless by the typhoon. Gov. Alberto added that many of the roads were impassable because of fallen trees and landslides. The President and the First Lady congratulated the people for taking the calamity in stride and working immediately to rebuild their houses. The Commission on Elections ban on the release of government funds had slowed down rehabilitation. After the briefing, the President and his party motored to the airport where two planeloads of “nutri-buns” were being unloaded. The President formally turned over the shipment to Gov. Alberto.
From Virac, the presidential party flew to Legaspi City where they surveyed the damage up to Tabaco, Malinao and Tiwi. At well past noon, the President and the rest of his party flew to Naga City where they found that the typoon damage was not as extensive as in Albay and Catanduanes. The presidential party was accompanied throughout the trip by Rep. Roberto Sabido of Albay and Rep. Felix Fuentebella of Camarines Sur and Gov. Armando S. Cledera of the same province.
The President and his party took off from Pili airport at 2:15 p.m., arriving in Manila at about 2:50 p.m. After a brief rest from his Bicol trip, the President worked at his desk, during which he signed the promotions of 15 State Prosecutors on the recommendation of the Department of Justice. Promoted to the next higher grade were Senior State Prosecutors Arsenio Raquel Santos and Artemio Asuncion; and State Prosecutors Tirso Velasco, Salvador Tolentino, Lilia Lopez, Tomas de Guzman, Rene Victoriano, Alfonso Jimenez, Jose Flaminiano, Roberto Lagman, Jose de la Fuente, Alberto S. Lim, Jr., Jesus de Vega, Corona Ibay Somera and Estanislao Granados. The Chief Executive also designated Carlos Z. Ambrosio as state prosecutor and Manuel O. Berina as city engineer of Naga City. Ambrosio was formerly assistant provincial fiscal of Rizal, while Berina was supervising civil engineer of the first highway engineering district of Albay.
We have to start from the beginning all over again. But there must be a way of controlling typhoon damage. We should start work on this above all else.
Most of the public buildings were wrecked—municipal buildings, provincial capitols, schools, hospitals and warehouses.
The Marcos type schoolhouse that was supposed to withstand a 100-knot wind could not weather the typhoon of 275 miles an hour. But it was blown down principally because of the wide eaves and the open windows barred with steel. The other schools with jalousies were partially standing.
Now a typhoon is threatening Mindanao which was never hit by a typhoon before.