PH deploying team to aid in Myanmar quake response

By Darryl John Esguerra, Philippine News Agency

Their tentative deployment date is on Tuesday, Castro said in a Palace press briefing Monday. (File Photo by Andrew Buchanan/Unsplash)

MANILA – The Philippines is deploying an emergency team to help in the ongoing disaster response efforts in Myanmar following a devastating earthquake three days ago.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said a team consisting of 114 personnel from the Department of Health, Bureau of Fire Protection, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and Metro Manila Development Authority will be deployed in the quake-hit areas.

Their tentative deployment date is on Tuesday, Castro said in a Palace press briefing Monday.

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake, one of Myanmar’s strongest in a century, jolted the war-torn Southeast Asian nation on Friday, leaving around 1,700 people dead, 3,400 injured and over 300 missing as of Sunday.

Four of the 128 registered overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Myanmar remained unaccounted for, according to the Philippine Embassy in Yangon.

Meanwhile, all Filipinos are safe in Thailand, which was also rattled by the tremor.

Castro said an interagency meeting was held to mobilize government resources to help those affected by the quake.

She said the President is monitoring the situation, particularly those of Filipinos who are affected by the powerful earthquake.

“Iyan po ay ipinag-utos ng ating Pangulo sa ating mga concerned agencies na agarang tumulong sa ating mga kapitbahay na bansa (That is the directive of the President to concerned agencies to immediately assist our neighbor countries),” she added.