By Lilybeth G. Ison
MANILA, Dec. 12 — The ongoing search and rescue operations in Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley has covered 75 percent of the area devastated by typhoon "Pablo."
"We are cognizant of the concerns of the President and we are doing our best," said Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) Lt. Gen. Jorge Segovia in a press briefing at the Palace on Wednesday.
"This search and rescue effort has produced some results. We were able to rescue a few at sea through our maritime search and rescue," he said.
Government forces were able to rescue some 35 fishermen out of the reported 313 fishermen missing.
Segovia said the Philippine Air Force has found isolated communities, sitios, "and they were able to drop relief goods in these areas followed by rescue teams. There are (also) a couple of sitios in Davao Oriental that were found to be isolated and the Brigade Commander there, Colonel Guerrero, has made sure that relief goods are on their way to that area."
Because they are combining both civilian and military personnel, Segovia said, the Air Force map shows that all the low-lying areas below a certain level of altitude have already been searched.
"The reason why we will not say we have searched 100 percent is because there are elevations of 8,000 to 9,000 feet. Those are areas that cannot be reached by choppers but we’ve arranged for a fixed-wing aircraft to search those areas. So most of the areas or most of the population areas have been searched and completed," he said.
Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras, for his part, said the instruction ofPresident Benigno Aquino III was to go on search and rescue "until we have 100 percent coverage of the area — meaning, until we have fully accounted for each and every location within the affected areas.
"As far as the assets to search these areas are concerned, we have them. We even have assistance from the United States government. They have sent an airplane that is capable of doing recon at high altitudes," he said.
"As far as choppers are concerned, yes, we would like to get as much more choppers as we can. We’re trying to fix the choppers that are already there," he added.
Almendras said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has just reported that the bridge going to Cateel town has been repaired.
"So we can move now via truck to… Actually we can reach Cateel now by truck in four hours," he said.
Almendras said the government is now redeploying some of the load of relief goods — instead of going by sea, "it’s a lot faster to go (now) by trucks. So there will be an improvement when goods flow to this general area because of the restoration of an area where trucks can go."
He said the government recognized that food sourcing at site — because of the devastation — "is going to be very difficult. (This is) precisely why part of the plan is a sustained relief operation which DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) is putting together."
"We already have our calculations as to how many tons, how many food packs we need to produce. The funds will be released immediately. There is no immediate rush for it because there are still stocks. But we realized hindi natin pwedeng tapusin ito this week — or not even next week," he added.
Based on their initial calculation, Almendras said there were about 80,000 families but he expects the numbers to go up to 90,000 families.
"We need to provide for them (relief goods) and shelter. The (relief) operation is not just about food (but also) shelter because (the areas are) devastated," he noted.
"The national government is definitely going to be with them. Hindi po natin sila tatalikuran. Ang instruction po ng Presidente is to bring them back up their feet and we are very, very serious about doing that," he said.
"I think this is another opportunity for all of us to come together to help and give in whatever way we can — whether it’s resources you can give or actually go there and help. We need to rebuild people’s lives and rebuilding people’s lives is going to be a lot more challenging than just providing relief. Some people have lost everything they have. They’ve lost their families, their houses, and we’ve lost whole communities — literally gone under mud or gone underwater. So I think this is really a good time for us to come together and help," he added. (PNA)
CTB/LGI