NDRRMC honors PH humanitarian team to quake-hit Turkey

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Monday honored the 82-man Philippine contingent to earthquake-hit Turkey with an award.

In a statement, the NDRRMC said members of the Philippine Inter-Agency Humanitarian Contingent (PIAC) were conferred with the "Bakas Parangal ng Kabayanihan" award in a ceremony held in Camp Aguinaldo.

"As a Filipino, it makes me proud that our country, the Philippines, readily responded to that call, in solidarity with the international community," said Defense officer-in-charge Carlito Galvez Jr, who also chairs the NDRRMC, in his keynote speech.

Bakas Parangal, institutionalized in August 2012, is given as recognition of merit or token of gratitude to individuals or groups who exerted exemplary and extraordinary acts of selflessness in reaching out to those who are in urgent need of assistance in times of disasters.

Aside from the award, the contingent also received P4.1 million monetary incentives from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).

PIAC was sent to Turkey to help victims of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit the country on February 6. The team arrived in Istanbul on February 9 and returned home on March 1. —KBK, GMA Integrated News