MANILA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Arroyo on Sunday ordered local government units (LGUs) to prepare for the entry into the Philippine territory Monday of typhoon "Melor" (international code name), and the return of typhoon "Pepeng" (international code name "Parma") into the country due to the influence of the former.

    "The directive of the President is to be more prepared, to have forward planning and to improve disaster risk management," Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said in a radio interview.

    Weather forecasters said Melor, which would be given the local name "Quedan" once it enters Philippine territory, may cause exiting typhoon "Pepeng" to do a loop and go back to the Ilocos region, particularly Batanes.

    "Melor" has wreaked havoc in the Northern Marianas and Saipan territories.

    They said "Pepeng" and "Melor" are actually interacting with each other due to their close proximity, a phenomenon known as Fujiwhara effect or Fujiwara interaction, which was named after Japanese meteorologist Sakuhei Fujiwhara.

    When two cyclones approach each other, their centers orbit and spiral. The larger one will tend to dominate the smaller, although there are times when they merge.

    Remonde said Filipinos thank God for sparing Metro Manila from a second tropical cyclone and Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales for the order to pray the Oratio Imperata or obligatory prayer to spare the Philippines from another calamity.

    "We should learn from this experience...Our President and the government will do their best to help our countrymen especially those who need to rebuild their lives," he said.

    He also urged pranksters to stop spreading false information through text and internet messages that only create panic among the people.