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Source: gmanews.tv

-- After typhoon Santi (Mirinae) pummeled Southern Luzon last Saturday, state weather forecasters are now keeping tabs on a potential cyclone that has entered Philippine territory.

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the shallow low-pressure area (SLPA) was 850 km east of Luzon as of 4 a.m. Sunday.

“Mino-monitor namin sa Pagasa kung magiging bagyo ito, pero ‘di pa namin masasabi; wala pa namang epekto ang naturang weather condition since may kalayuan pa ito," Pagasa forecaster Arnel Gonzales said in an interview on dzBB radio.

(We are still monitoring it, but it is too early to say if it will become a cyclone. But for now, it is not likely to have any direct effect on any part of the country because it is still too far away.)

If the SLPA intensifies into a cyclone while in Philippine territory, it will be code named “Tino," the 20th cyclone in Philippine territory this year.

Meanwhile, Pagasa advised fishing boats and small seacraft against venturing to the sea due to strong winds associated with Santi.

According to the National Disaster Coordinating Council in its 6 p.m. bulletin on Saturday, Santi left 10 people dead while three more were reportedly killed after.

Santi began unleashing its wrath Friday evening causing power outages, floods, and landslides in some areas in Luzon.

It said strong to gale force winds are expected to affect the seaboards of Northern, Central and Southern Luzon.

Pagasa said Santi continued to move away from Philippine territory as of early Sunday morning, with no more areas under storm signals.

Its 5 a.m. advisory said Santi was 450 km west-southwest of Metro Manila as of 4 a.m., with maximum sustained winds of 85 kph near center and gustiness of up to 100 kph.

Santi is expected to be 970 km west-southwest of Metro Manila by Monday morning.

But it said Palawan will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and isolated thunderstorms.

The rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms, it added.