President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said the government is looking to extend its response to Syria following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit Turkiye and Syria last week.
In an interview enroute to the Philippines from Japan on Sunday, Feb. 13, Marcos said they will find a way to also extend help to Syria, duplicating what the government did for Turkiye.
"I’ve been receiving reports from our team in Turkey and malala talaga napakabigat ng pangyayari. Marami na silang natulungan (the situation is really tough and devastating. They have helped many people). They set up already a hospital at marami na silang na-rescue. They still keep going on," Marcos said.
"Now I'm trying to find a way kasi hindi lang naman Turkey ang tinamaan, Syria pati. At alam naman natin ang kalagayan sa Syria hindi napakaganda (because it was not only Turkey, Syria was also hit. And we know the situation of Syria). That’s why I’m hoping that we will be able to do something to help them," he added.
Last week, the Philippines sent a Philippine Humanitarian Contingent to Turkiye to help in the search, rescue, and evacuation operations there.
The response team, through the direction of the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, were assigned to conduct structure assessment on collapsed buildings and establish a satellite field hospital to cater to patients and injured personnel.
As of Feb. 11, 53 Filipino families were evacuated to shelter in Ankara, Turkiye following the devastating earthquake.