Pinoys affected by Myanmar quake being relocated, given aid — PH embassy

The Philippine Embassy in Myanmar has relocated and provided temporary lodgings to Filipinos who sought assistance following the magnitude-7.7 earthquake that left thousands dead in the devastated country.

In a Facebook post late Friday evening, the embassy reported that such services have been delivered and that another effort to relocate Filipinos would be conducted on Sunday, April 6.

The post said, "The Philippine Embassy provided transportation and temporary accommodation to the first batch of Filipinos who availed of the Embassy's voluntary relocation program for distressed Overseas Filipino Workers affected by the 7.7 earthquake."

"While under the custody of the Embassy, the Filipinos will be offered welfare assistance (including financial assistance) and medical assistance (including trauma counselling)," it added.

In an earlier post, the Philippine embassy said it facilitated the temporary voluntary relocation of 15 Filipinos in distress on Thursday, April 3.

The death toll from Myanmar's devastating earthquake on March 28 has surpassed 3,000, with hundreds more missing, as forecasts of unseasonal rain presented a new challenge for rescue and aid workers trying to reach people in a country riven by civil war.

Four Filipinos remain unaccounted in the quake's aftermath. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had said the four are professionals, either working as teachers or office workers.

A Filipino teacher in Myanmar later appealed that the Philippine humanitarian team deployed to the country prioritize helping Filipinos in Mandalay, one of the worst-affected cities and the country's second largest.

The teacher said he personally knew three of the four Filipinos, whom he described as a married couple and a Physical Education teacher.

In a statement on Saturday, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said that inasmuch as it wants the Philippine humanitarian contingent to be part of the search for Filipinos, the team has to comply with the coordinated effort on disaster response involving international teams.

"We really wanted our humanitarian contingent in Myanmar to be the ones to locate are kababayans, who are believed to be trapped in the rubble of the Sky Villa," said OCD Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno, referring to the Sky Villa building which collapsed in Mandalay.

"However, we must adhere to the directives of Myanmar authorities and follow their operational plans. Urban search and rescue teams from Myanmar, Vietnam, Russia, and China are currently assigned to the Sky Villa area," Nepomuceno said.

NBI team

Meanwhile, the Philippine Embassy said a team from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Disaster Victim Identification Division (DVID) was expected to arrive in Mandalay on Saturday "to secure tissue samples collected from unidentified remains recovered from the Sky Villa site."

"The NBI-DVID in Manila will also be collecting samples from the family members of the missing Filipinos in order to ascertain indubitable identity," the embassy said.

In a message addressed to overseas Filipinos in Myanmar on March 29, Chargé d'Affaires Angelito Nayan said 121 of 128 registered Filipinos in the area were confirmed safe. Aside from the four unaccounted individuals, the status of three other Filipinos had yet to be confirmed at the time.

The first batch of the Philippine humanitarian contingent with 58 members arrived in Myanmar on April 1, while the second batch with 33 members on April 2.

The Philippine Army said Friday its contingent in Myanmar has started participating in the search and rescue mission for quake-affected individuals in the country.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Embassy in Myanmar said Filipinos in need of assistance may reach the its Counseling Services at +959985210998 and Accommodation and Transportation Services at +959940301188. — VDV, GMA Integrated News