Duterte extends condolences to quake-hit Haiti

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte is extending his sympathies to the people of Haiti who lost their loved ones in a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on Saturday morning, Malacañang said on Monday.

“On behalf of the Filipino nation, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte extends his sincere condolences to the government and to the people of Haiti for the tragedy and devastation caused by the strong earthquake that struck Haiti,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a Palace press briefing.

Citing the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Roque said there are no Filipinos affected by the quake that has claimed the lives of 1,297 people.

Earlier, Assistant Secretary Eduardo Meñez of the DFA Office of Public and Cultural Diplomacy (OPCD) said the agency continues to monitor the situation in Haiti.

To date, there are an estimated 470 Filipinos in Haiti.

Reports showed that the 7.2 magnitude earthquake, which was followed by a series of aftershocks, struck eight kilometers from the town of Petit Trou de Nipples, about 150 km west of the capital Port-au-Prince, at a depth of 10 km.

Some 13,600 buildings were destroyed and over 13,7000 damaged, trapping hundreds under rubble and leaving more than 5,700 injured.

The strong quake exacerbated the challenge of battling the Covid-19 pandemic as Haiti’s hospitals were swamped by thousands of injured residents.

This happened as Haiti is still recovering from the most devastating temblor that killed roughly 250,000 people 11 years ago and reeling from the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse last July 7.

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who flew over the region to survey the damage, has declared a month-long state of emergency.