DSWD stops exit of Yolanda victims' processing from Villamor Airbase

The processing center for typhoon Yolanda displaced persons from the Eastern Visayas “will remain in Villamor Airbase”, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Thursday, even as it dismantled the operations set up earlier at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

 

“It’s better to be in Villamor Airbase kaysa sa Camp Aguinaldo [na] malayo at ma-traffic,” Social Welfare Secretary Corazon "Dinky" Soliman told GMA News Online in a phone interview on Thursday night.

 

The DSWD said NCR director Ma. Alicia Bonoan was tasked to head the operations in the airbase.

 

“Those needing medical attention are being attended by standby emergency teams sent by the local government units. Immediate needs including food, access to personal sanitation facilities, transport assistance, psycho-emotional support, and temporary shelter are provided,” the DSWD statement said.

People, there's still OPLAN HATID in Villamor Gate 4. We're here now and they need more volunteers.… http://t.co/T5K5o00yBI

— iya castillo (@iyacastillo) November 21, 2013

Happy that #oplanhatid #operationhatid is back in #villamor airbase. I was there last night with… http://t.co/KJ1qKAgD24

— Sheryll Quimosing (@shequimosing) November 21, 2013

 

 

However, by the time the decision to stay put at Villamor was made and released to the media and general public, several busloads of evacuees from Tacloban City and other parts of the Eastern Visayas were transported to Camp Aguinaldo, the general headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.


 

 

The transfer decision also earned the ire of some volunteers who had committed to welcome and help evacuees arriving at the airbase.

 

On GMA News' late evening newscast “Saksi”, Dante Perello, reporting from Camp Aguinaldo, said some 400 evacuees were brought to the AFP GHQ. He also said the processing operations there was dismantled by 10:00 p.m. 

 

Earlier an AFP spokesman, Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said, "Hindi sila pwedeng tumira dito. This is a military camp. We're just decongesting the airbase." 

 

In a separate interview, Philippine Air Force spokesman Miguel Okol said, “There is no perfect system, but we are doing this for the best of the victim’s interest that's why we revert back to the old system.” 

Okol said it was the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) that earlier made the decision to transfer out of Villamor Airbase.


 

 

Malacañang was informed of the transfer. Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma said Oplan Salubong was moved to Camp Aquinaldo because it is nearer to bus terminals in Cubao, which can be used by the displaced victims to go to where their relatives are.

 

As of Thursday 4 pm, DSWD said about 10,088 individuals who arrived n Manila from Yolanda-ravaged areas. Of this number, some 1,549 people were fetched by their relatives, while 1,079 individuals were provided transportation by volunteers.

Those who have no place to go were referred to DSWD-accredited holding areas – Jose Fabella Center, Visayan Forum, Tent City in Pasay, Hospicio de San Jose, Augustinian Sisters, and Sta. Ana Church.  — ELR, GMA News