AFP mobilizes units in Manila, Northern Luzon for Yolanda relief operations

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has deployed more helicopters, trucks, ships, and troops for ongoing relief and rescue operations in the Visayas.

Although most reinforcements are from Central Command in Cebu, the AFP has mobilized units from as far away as Northern Luzon.

 

In a statement, the military said it sent five more helicopters from Central Command to help six choppers already performing relief efforts and disaster response in Tacloban City, the provincial capital of Leyte, where super typhoon Yolanda is believed to have destroyed 80 percent of structures.

 

"The use of choppers in Tacloban to deliver relief goods will serve as a stop-gap solution until such time the additional transportation assets arrive," the military said Tuesday.

 

Meanwhile, 11 M35 cargo trucks were deployed to Tacloban City from the Army headquarters in Taguig to assist in the delivery of relief goods to remote areas of Eastern Visayas, the military said. 

 

As of 6 a.m. Tuesday, relief goods have been delivered to Guiuan, Eastern Samar by C-130 aircraft, the AFP said.

 

Two Navy boats, the DF 341 and DF 352, also delivered goods from the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Region 6 to the islands and coastal towns of Aklan and Northern Iloilo.

 

Some 700 soldiers of the Army’s 525th Engineering Combat Battalion and the 1st Special Forces Battalion also left on Tuesday for Tacloban City to augment the first batch of about 300 military engineers and special forces deployed yesterday.

 

These troops will conduct clearing operations in Tacloban City and other parts of Leyte and Samar, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala said.

 

The 523rd Engineer Construction Battalion from the Northern Luzon Command is also headed for Central Command to help in relief efforts, clearing operations, evacuations, and peace and order restoration amid reports of some survivors ransacking stores in affected areas, the AFP said.

 

In an update posted on the Malacañang website, the Philippine Air Force has confirmed it has started bringing relief good to Guiuan, Samar using helicopter drop zones and transporting injured survivors from Tacloban via the C-130 aircraft.

 

Last Saturday, the military set up logistical hubs in Roxas City and in Iloilo City. Five helicopters operating from these hubs have since been conducting an average of three to four sorties in Capiz and Northern Iloilo.

 

The 82nd Infantry Battalion and the 61st Infantry Battalion, equipped with M35 trucks, have also been conducting relief and rescue operations in Antique, Aklan, and Northern Iloilo since Saturday.

 

As of Monday evening, the official death toll stood at 1,774 - of which 1,660 were from Region 8 alone, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said in a report. — JDS, GMA News