LIST: Government offices, museums closed; Banks issue advisories due to monsoon, Typhoon Carina
Typhoon Carina (international name Gaemi)—and the southwest monsoon or habagat it's enhancing—is bringing continuous rains, strong winds, and heavy flooding in several parts of the country.
According to PAGASA's 11 a.m. advisory, the habagat enhanced by Carina will bring moderate to intense rainfall over various localities in the western portion of Luzon until Friday, July 26.
Carina is forecast to make landfall over northern Taiwan in the afternoon if not early evening. But before its landfall, the state weather bureau noted it could reach the Super Typhoon category.
Carina is expected to leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility Thursday morning, July 25.
Classes at all levels in Metro Manila and work in government offices are suspended on July 24, Wednesday, due to the inclement weather.
Several establishments were also forced to close up shop. Here's a running list of institutions that are unavailable at the moment because of heavy rains.
Senate, House, Supreme Court
Senate President Chiz Escudero suspended work due to the inclement weather, the forecast medium to heavy rains over Metro Manila and nearby areas, and the “deep flood” at the Senate entrance. Sessions will resume on July 29 at 3 p.m.
The House of Representatives, meanwhile, halted work, including the conduct of the plenary session and committee hearings.
The Supreme Court, for its part, suspended work in the following courts:
- National Capital Region – all courts (July 24)
- Batanes – all courts (July 24 to 25)
- Rizal – MTCC, FC, and RTC Antipolo; FC Cainta, RTC Branch 18-FC Cainta, RTC Branch 143 Antipolo sitting in Cainta, MTC Cainta, MTC Taytay, and PMC Unit of Antipolo (July 24)
- Bataan – all courts (July 24)
- Laguna – MTCC San Pablo City, RTC Siniloan (July 24)
- La Union – MTCC San Fernando City (July 24)
Banks
The following banks have announced that some of their branches are closed today due to the rain and flooding. Click the respective links to know the list of closed branches.
PBCOM said its customer care hotline won't also be available and asked the public to email concerns instead. Its ATMs nationwide are likewise available.
Security Bank's customer care hotline is available, even as it encourages users to make transactions on the website/app or visit its ATMs.
Bank of Makati asked customers to send the bank a message for urgent concerns.
TRBank Inc.'s branch lites are also unavailable due to the inclement weather
Bank of Commerce encouraged customers to bank from home using its app.
Museums
The following museums won't open today:
Mind Museum said those who pre-booked tickets may send an email to reschedule their visit.
Ayala Museum and the Filipinas Heritage Library asked the public to visit their website for updates on their schedule.
Fundacion Sanso said its authentication offices and museum shop are likewise closed due to inclement weather.
National Museum of the Philippines as well as Museo Pambata won't be available today, saying that the safety of the public is their priority.
Others
Trading
The Philippine Stock Exchange said in an advisory that there will be no trading today.
La Mesa Ecopark
The park said it will be closed today for its "standard clearing operation" due to Carina. Visitors booked on July 24 will be accommodated on any other regular operating day, it added.
This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates.