MANILA – The Philippine Inter-Agency Humanitarian Contingent (PHIAC) team departed for Myanmar early Tuesday morning, April 1, to assist in the search, rescue, and retrieval operations following a devastating magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck the region last Friday, March 28.

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A send-off ceremony was held for the Philippine contingent at the Colonel Jesus Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

The Philippine Air Force said the 91-person team comprises specialists from various sectors.

The team includes:

• 3 personnel from the Office of Civil Defense

• 10 personnel from the Philippine Army (PA) 

• 11 personnel from the Philippine Air Force (PAF) 505th Search and Rescue Group

• 10 personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) - Special Rescue Unit

• 10 personnel from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA)

• 15 Department of Environment and National Resources (DENR)

• 32 medical personnel from the Department of Health (DOH)

“Natuloy din 'yung pagpapadala natin ng ating grupo upang makatulong tayo sa bansang Myanmar… Ito 'yung ating paraan para ipakita natin 'yung ating pagututulungan sa ating kapitbahay… Ito’y tungkulin natin bilang kasama sa Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Ang ating bansa ay handang tumugon," OCD administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno said.

He said the humanitarian mission has 2 primary objectives: to help in the search for survivors and to assist in giving medical assistance to Myanmar.

“Unang-una, 'yung pagtulong dun sa paghahanap dun sa mga maaaring buhay pa na mga naipit dun sa mga gumuhong istraktura diyan sa Myanmar. 'Yan ang importante dahil may panahon pa para mailigtas sila,” he said.

“Pangalawa, galing sa DOH importante 'yan meron silang ipinadala na 32-man team na mga makakatulong para sa medical mission at asisstance dito sa Myanmar,” he added.

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More than 2,000 people are confirmed dead while thousands more were injured after a massive earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand last week.

Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, emphasized the expertise of the Philippine Emergency Medical Assistance team.

“Ang tawag dun sa team na pinadala natin is Philippine emergency medical assistance team. Ito po ay isa sa mga 52 teams na WHO classified in the world… They are well trained they will set up the field hospital, they will set up logistics, tsaka lahat ng each member of the team may role,” Herbosa said.

The health secretary said the mission will provide important learnings for future disaster responses within the Philippines.

“Ini-inspire ko sila… 'Yung gagawin nila dito eh parang preparasyon din 'yan sakaling magkaroon tayo ng 'The Big One' sa Metro Manila,” he added.

According to the Philippine Air Force, two C-130 aircraft transported 58 out of the 91 team members, along with medical and rescue equipment to Myanmar this morning.

The remaining group of 33 personnel will depart Wednesday morning.

The PAF said the team is committed to remain in Myanmar for about 13-14 days.

PH PREPS FOR ‘THE BIG ONE’ 

The Office of Civil Defense acknowledged that the Philippines needed to scale efforts to ensure that the country is ready for a massive earthquake. 

OCD Spokesperson Director Chris Noel Bendijo said that while there are activities such as the quarterly earthquake drills and regular orientation of local governments, authorities still need to tighten compliance to policies such as the National Building Code.

“Mawawalan ng saysay yung ating pagda-duck, cover, and hold na ginagawa natin sa ating earthquake drill, kung ang mga gusali natin ay magko-collapse din po dahil ito ay hindi sumunod sa Building Code,” Bendijo said.

He added that there was still a lot of catching up to do for the Philippines to ensure resilience, noting that other disaster-prone countries like Japan have so far been able to retrofit most of their hospitals and school structures.

Malacanang earlier called on LGUs to impose stricter standards in issuing building permits in their localities, and for building officers to conduct inspections of their structures.

“Idini-demand po natin hangga’t maaari po na iyong mga building officers nila ay magsagawa po ng mga inspection kung maaari, at maging mahigpit din po sila sa pagbibigay ng mga permits sa pagpapagawa ng mga buildings na magiging maaaring hindi ganoon katibay, ayan po,” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Monday.

ACCOUNTING FOR FILIPINOS

Meanwhile, Senate President Francis Escudero urged concerned government agencies to account for all Filipinos in Myanmar and neighboring Thailand. 

“We still have Filipinos unaccounted for up to now and as such we should exert greater efforts to locate them at the soonest possible time,” he said. 

“Once the dust has settled and the rescue operations have concluded, we must have a full accounting of the Filipinos who may have been affected by the earthquake and extend every possible assistance as necessary, including psychosocial support for the survivors,” the Senate chief said. 

Escudero added that the Philippines’ earthquake preparedness should be boosted. 

“We must see to it that regular inspections are conducted on public infrastructure and on the structures constructed by the private sector, particularly the office and residential buildings that have sprouted over the past decades,” he said.

Escudero's press release noted that three Senate bills were  seeking to repeal and update the Building Code of the Philippines. 

“We need to take seriously disaster risk reduction and management initiatives at all times that have long been funded in our annual budget because disaster can strike without warning,” he said.

— With reports from Pia Gutierrez and RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News 

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