President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the declaration of state of calamity in the entire Luzon.

In a taped televised meeting with some members of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on Tuesday night, Duterte said he has already signed the declaration.

"Last night, I think I signed the proclamation," he said.

Duterte made the statement when Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana during the meeting reminded him of the recommendation of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to place the whole of Luzon under the state of calamity following the destruction brought by at least three typhoons during the past weeks.

Lorenzana is the chairman of NDRRMC.

Latest data from NDRRMC showed that Typhoons "Quinta," "Rolly," and "Ulysses," which recently struck Luzon, have caused an estimated P19.685-billion damage to infrastructure while P10.375 billion to agriculture.

Meanwhile, Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Ano reported that death toll from "Ulysses" has reached to 73, while 19 individuals were missing.

Comparing with the almost 500 deaths when Tropical Storm "Ondoy" hit the country, particularly Metro Manila and nearby areas in 2009, he said the number of casualties in ''Ulysses'' was much lower. Celerina Monte/DMS