The Philippine government has deployed a 91-member emergency response team to Myanmar to assist in the aftermath of the powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake that claimed the lives of over 2,000 people.
“Country assistance ito, so ni-request ito ng country of Myanmar. Nag-offer tayo ng ating expertise, madaming members ito, we have 91 members in the team, 32 ’yung Philippine Medical Assistance Team/PEMAT na WHO-certified (This is country assistance, requested by Myanmar. We offered our expertise. This team has many members—91 in total, 32 of them from the WHO-certified PEMAT),” Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Ted Herbosa said in a television interview on Tuesday, April 1.
Of the 91 personnel, the DOH said 32 are part of the World Health Organization (WHO)-certified Philippine Emergency Medical Assistance Team (PEMAT).
Herbosa said that the rest of the team includes members from the Bureau of Fire Protection’s Urban Search and Rescue Unit, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Disaster Response Unit, and pilots from the Philippine Air Force (PAF).
The team, he said, will stay in Myanmar for two weeks.
The DOH chief noted that this is the second time the Philippines is deploying emergency medical team abroad, the first being the Turkey earthquake response.
“Ang unang experience ng ating team na ito was ’yung Turkey, mga nakailang taon na ang nakakaraan, at ngayon ito na ang ating pangalawa na in another country as WHO-certified (The first experience of this team was in Turkey, a few years ago. This is now our second deployment in another country as a WHO-certified team),” he said.
“Alam niyo, there are only 52 certified by WHO in the world, atin ay tatlo–tawag natin ay No. 44, 45, and 46. Isa po diyan ay JB Lingad, iyon po ’yung team na pumunta sa Turkey; pagkatapos ’yung sa NCR (National Capital Region) Jose N. Rodriguez; at ’yung sa Visayas–ito ’yung Eastern Visayas Medical Center, so experienced na rin disaster ang mga iyan dahil naka-experience sila ng Typhoon Haiyan o Yolanda, victims din sila (There are only 52 WHO-certified teams in the world. We have three—numbers 44, 45, and 46. One is from JB Lingad, the team that went to Turkey; another from NCR, Jose N. Rodriguez; and one from the Visayas, the Eastern Visayas Medical Center. These people are also experienced in disaster response—they went through Typhoon Yolanda themselves),” he went on.
Herbosa said some members who responded to the Turkey earthquake were also included in the Myanmar mission.
“Hinalo namin ‘yung ibang miyembro na may experience sa Turkey earthquake para may combination tayo, iyan ang kanilang mga kasama (We mixed in some members with experience from the Turkey earthquake to create a good combination. These are their teammates),” said Herbosa.
The DOH chief said the team’s equipment is typically sufficient for two weeks and that contingency plans are in place should the mission require an extension.
He added that two additional teams are on standby to either resupply or rotate with the deployed group to avoid overstretching the volunteers.
The deployment is part of the Philippine Inter-Agency Humanitarian Contingent (PIAHC), led by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).
The team will provide trauma care, life support, pharmaceutical services, infectious disease isolation, and patient referrals.
Herbosa said the team departed from Villamor Airbase aboard two C-130 aircraft of the PAF.
On March 28, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake hit Myanmar, with its epicenter near Mandalay, the nation’s second-largest city.