(Eagle News)—President Rodrigo Duterte said he was grateful the Luzon quake yielded “minimal” effects, even as he condoled with the victims.
Duterte made the remark during a security briefing on the quake that has yielded at leas 16 dead, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III had reported the victims would be covered by PhiHealth.
The Department of Education, for its part, said only a few schools were damaged.
It also for budget for the repair of the DepEd Central Office, which had been damaged by the quake.
“I do not think that there’s so much damage as to cause an imbalance in the economic cycle of this place sa tingin ko. No price control or none,” Duterte said.
“I am quite satisfied with this,” Duterte said at one point after hearing the reports of his officials.
The 6.1-magnitude quake struck on Monday, at 5:11 p.m.
The worst-hit was Pampanga, which declared a state of calamity in one district to allow for rehabilitation there.
