MANILA – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Friday have dispatched to Bohol water purifying equipment that will provide potable drinking water for the affected residents staying in evacuation centers after a magnitude-7.2 quake jolted the Central Visayas Region.
AFP Public Affairs chief Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala said in a statement that sanitation teams composed of Army and Navy soldiers operate water purifiers capable of converting contaminated water into reliable drinking water for up to 32,000 liters per hour.
Zagala also said that they are currently in Masbate City and will head toward Cebu City then Bohol via roll-on roll-off vessel (Roro).
Also, three Navy vessels also departed early morning of Friday to send assorted relief goods. Earlier, a C-130 plane of the Philippine Air Force also transported 25,000 pounds of relief goods from Manila to Tagbilaran City, Bohol.
The AFP spokesperson added that the Central Command also deployed a total of 233 trucks to help in clearing, evacuation and other humanitarian assistance operations in gravely affected areas.
Two UH-1H, two SOKOL, and a Huey II helicopter of the Philippine Air Force had also conducted damage assessment and transport operations.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) 56-meter vessel BRP-EDSA (SARV-002) arrived at the vicinity off Tagbilaran Port last Thursday afternoon.
Commodore William Melad, district commander Coast Guard Central Visayas said that the relief goods carried by those ships will be immediately transported using small motor boats in the isolated town of Loon.
Melad explained that their ships cannot dock at the Tagbilaran City Port Terminal which was severely damaged by Tuesday’s earthquake that’s why they are utilizing several private boats owned by the residents and local fisher folks in the area who volunteered their assets for the transport of the said relief items.
“We can’t unload the relief goods since the Tagbilaran Port is damage, so we utilized the private boats of residents living near the area, at doon namin ilalagay yung mga sako then direcho distribute na sa Loon which is isolated and only can be reach by small boats," Melad said.
BRP-Pampanga (SARV-003) also left the Port of Manila late afternoon of Thursday and expected to arrive in Tagbilaran before evening of Friday.
The ship is loaded with more than 10,000 sacks of family food packs provided by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in cooperation with US AID and World Food Program for the families and residents affected by the Magnitude 7.2 earthquake last Tuesday.
The Coast Guard Air Group will also conduct aerial food drop for the residents affected in Loon. (Sunnex)