VP Duterte visits, gives meals to Davao landslide evacuees
By Raymund Antonio and Raymund Antonio
Vice President Sara Duterte visited the landslide victims in Davao de Oro and brought her Kalusugan Foodtruck to provide nutritious meals to the evacuees at the Nueva Visayas Gymnasium in Mawab, Davao de Oro.
Vice President Sara Duterte visits landslide victims staying in an evacuation center in Mawab, Davao de Oro. (Inday Sara Duterte/Facebook)
In separate Facebook posts, she shared about meeting some 24 families who were evacuated to the gymnasium following the deadly landslide in Maco, Davao de Oro last Tuesday, Feb. 6.
The official said that many of the evacuees are still awaiting word about their missing loved ones.
“Sinabi po natin sa mga lokal na opisyal na ipagbigay-alam sa aming opisina kung ano pa ang pwedeng tulong na maibigay natin sa kanila (We asked the local officials to tell our office how else we can help them),” she wrote, adding that rescue and retrieval operations were ongoing when she visited last Thursday, Feb. 8.
“Iminungkahi ko ring mainam na mabigyan ng stress debriefing ang mga evacuees na pansamantalang nakatira roon at talaga pong nakakadurog ng puso na marinig ang kanilang mga kwento (I also suggested to provide stress debriefing to the evacuees temporarily living there because their stories are really heartbreaking).”
Prior to her visit, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) sent its mobile food truck for its “Kalusugan Foodtruck,” a program launched to help with the problems of malnutrition among the youth.
OVP's Kalusugan Foodtruck (Photo from Inday Sara Duterte/Facebook)
But according to Duterte, the food truck can also serve as a mobile kitchen in times of calamities as part of the disaster operations.
“Marami ring mga bata ang nakausap ko roon at pinaalalahanan ko sila na mag-aral ng mabuti dahil ang edukasyon ang susi sa pagkakaroon ng magandang buhay (I also talked to a lot of children there and I reminded them to study well because education is the key to have a good life),” she said.
The Vice President then issued a reminder to Filipinos to listen to warnings by local authorities, especially in times of calamities.
“Prayoridad namin lagi ang inyong kaligtasan (Your safety is our priority),” she wrote.
In the posts, Duterte shared photos of her visit, including snap of her sharing stories with the evacuees and visiting the food truck, which were being manned by the Philippine Marines.
The Davao de Oro landslide buried two buses carrying workers of Apex Mining Co. Inc. Since the incident last Tuesday, the death toll has risen to 27, with more than 100 people missing.
The mining company attributed the landslide to the heavy rains that poured on Brgy. Masara in Maco in the last two weeks.
Davao Region, Northern Mindanao, Caraga, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao have suffered from floods and rain-induced landslides in the past weeks due to the northeast monsoon and trough of low pressure area.