Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana assured the Office of Civil Defense is on standby to address any incidents that may occur if the debris of a missile which North Korea is planning to launch will reach the Philippines.

"While we believe that the threat of a missile launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) is not directed at the Philippine archipelago, the Department of National Defense is closely monitoring the situation in the region," Lorenzana said in a statement on Saturday.

"We are treating this more as a civil defense rather than a military issue. Our Office of Civil Defense (OCD) is on standby and prepared to address any untoward incident that may occur in the aftermath of such a missile launch," he said.

"As we have done in the past, we have directed OCD to coordinate with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in determining the areas that will potentially, although remotely, be affected," he added.

Lorenzana also emphasized advisories may issue to local government agencies as part of their preparation for possible eventuality.

"It may also issue no-sail-zone advisories to coastal areas and alert advisories to local government agencies to step up preparedness of local communities in case the debris of a missile launch reaches the Philippines," he said.

"Be that as it may, we call on all countries involved to exercise sobriety and refrain from actions that may escalate tensions not only in the Korean Peninsula, but the rest of the Asia-Pacific region as well," he added.

Lorenzana also urge the public not to worry, be alert and to report to government authorities any unusual thing that they may notice in their area.

"Let us just wait for the announcement and updates of the assigned government agency," he said`. Robina Asido/DMS