The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has been working double time to transport food, water, and other relief items as well as help in the rehabilitation of the areas that were severely devastated by typhoon “Odette” nearly two weeks ago.
This was reported by Lt. Gen. Andres Centino, AFP Chief of Staff, to President Duterte during the latter’s “Talk to the People” public address on Monday night, Dec. 27.
Centino said 6,886 personnel, 769 land assets, 27 air assets, and 15 naval assets were sent in Mimaropa (Region 4B), Western Visayas (Region 6), Central Visayas (Region 7), Eastern Visayas (Region 8), Northern Mindanao (Region 10), and Caraga (Region 13) for the conduct of search, rescue, and retrieval (SRR) operations as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) operations.
In total, the AFP has already delivered 202,405.50 lbs of relief items, personnel, and equipment through 147 air sorties, and 1,427.72 tons of other items that were shipped by sea.
There were also 324 locally stranded individuals (LSIs) that were evacuated by the military from Caraga to Manila.
“Aside from employing the personnel in the affected areas, we are also redeploying units from the outside areas. This includes a battalion-sized Marine unit from Manila, deployed to Cebu help Visayas Command in its relief operations,” Centino said.
The AFP also deployed Army, Navy, and Air Force engineering and construction teams to help rebuild houses and other infrastructures in the affected areas.
Moreover, Centino also mobilized the civil-military coordination center in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City to serve as a relief hub for the donated items from various private groups and individuals.
“In coordination with the , we facilitated the transport of the relief items from Manila to the affected areas,” the AFP Chief said.
Typhoon Odette hit the country on Dec. 16 and left over 300 people dead, three million affected, and at least P22 billion worth of damage to agriculture and infrastructure.