President Duterte lauds AFP’s disaster response in Visayas, Mindanao
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has commended the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for assisting communities devastated by Typhoon Odette last month and for fulfilling its mandate of securing the nation from the enemies of the state.
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President Rodrigo
Roa Duterte talks to the people after holding a meeting with key government
officials at the Arcadia Active Lifestyle Center in Matina, Davao City on
January 17, 2021. ROEMARI LISMONERO/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO
“And I would like to reiterate that in behalf of
the people of the Philippines, I would like to commend and salute the AFP for
their toil. It was really not --- it was a toil to be there helping everybody,”
President Duterte said in his regular Talk to the People aired on Tuesday.
“So salamat sa --- for all of these achievements
so far that you have gathered throughout the… It’s a never-ending job for you
hanggang ngayon, but nagpapasalamat ang tao at ako mismo nagpapasalamat rin.
Keep up the good work and you have my snappy salute also.”
During the President’s weekly public address, AFP
chief of staff Gen. Andres Centino reported the contributions of the armed
forces in the ongoing relief and rehabilitation efforts in the regions affected
by the recent typhoon.
General Centino told the President that so far,
the AFP has already deployed a total of 9,079 personnel in the five regions
affected by the typhoon in the areas covered by Visayas Command, Eastern
Mindanao Command, and Western Command of the AFP.
“Our personnel were immediately deployed in order
to help in the prevention, mitigation, and response operations before, during
and after the typhoon,” Centino said in his report.
Aside from the personnel sent to disaster areas,
the AFP deployed about 28 Philippine Navy assets, 30 Philippine Air Force
assets, and 769 land assets to provide assistance in the delivery and transport
of relief goods, supplies, equipment and personnel.
Summarizing the AFP’s transport missions since the
start of its Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Operations,
Centino said the armed forces has used its assets to deliver a total of 522,675
kilos of supplies by air and about 4.1 million kilos of supplies and cargoes in
97 sorties by sea.
“Likewise, a total of 4.8 million kilos of relief
goods were transported by land using our 769 trucks and vehicles,” he reported.
At the same time, the AFP used its assets in the
transport of 1,514 stranded individuals by sea and 667 individuals by air.
Centino said the AFP has also worked with other
stakeholders.For instance, the Philippine Air Force tapped the services of its
affiliated reserve units like Air Asia and Philippine Airlines in transporting
a total of 17,000 kilos of cargoes.
The Philippine Navy also coordinated with its
affiliated reserve units, transporting by sea a total of 277,000 kilos of
cargoes.
The AFP has set off the Civil-Military
Coordination Center (CMCC), a facility activated during crisis and emergency
situation to coordinate with government agencies, non-government organizations,
and international humanitarian communities in the delivery of donated goods.
Through the CMCC, the AFP received over 8 million
kilos of relief goods from 460 donors.
During HADR Operations, AFP’s newly acquired
assets were used such as the Philippine Navy frigate BRP Jose Rizal, shifting
from security operations to humanitarian missions for the delivery of relief
goods to Palawan. The Navy’s sea asset made two sorties and facilitated the
transport of 78,000 kilos of relief goods.
The BRP Ang Pangulo was converted into a floating
hospital complete with medical teams and personnel on Siargao Island to provide
medical assistance. So far, over 1,600 patients have been provided with medical
service.
The newly acquired Philippine Air Force’s Black
Hawk helicopters were also used during the initial rapid damage assessments, in
the rescue of typhoon victims, and the transport of personnel and the delivery
of relief goods in over 249 sorties, Centino reported.
To help people rebuild their homes, the AFP also
deployed carpentry teams.
Also, Army engineers were sent to disaster areas
to provide engineering support in the clearing roads and removing debris
immediately after the onslaught of the typhoon.
The AFP has provided mobile water tanks to give
typhoon survivors with potable water. It also facilitated the transport of
equipment and supplies of utility companies for them to restore the electricity
and communication requirements in affected areas.
Although there was an increased deployment in
typhoon-affected areas, Centino assured President Duterte that the AFP still
has sufficient forces deployed in other parts of the country to secure
communities from communist insurgents and terrorists.
Despite the AFP’s various tasks, it recently
neutralized Menandro Villanueva aka “Bok,” the longest-serving secretary of the
Southern Mindanao Regional Committee and the commander of National Operations
Command of the CPP-NPA.
Centino also reported the neutralization of
Norodin Hassan, the head of the DI Hassan Group, who was responsible for a bus
bombing in Aleosan, Cotabato.
“We’d like to report also, sir, that we have
sufficient forces to be deployed in checkpoints in coordination with the
Comelec and the PNP,” he said. PND
