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Pilot flies private aircraft to aid Odette victims in Siargao
By GISELLE OMBAY, GMA NewsA pilot has been flying a private aircraft for three days now to conduct rescue missions and transport stranded Typhoon Odette victims in Siargao Island in Surigao del Norte to Butuan City in Agusan del Norte.
Captain Lester Codog said the evacuation flights started on Sunday—a day after Typhoon Odette exited the Philippine area of responsibility.
“The first mission was to actually clear all the hit areas like Surigao and Siargao. So, I brought all the air traffic controllers because the area was devastated. Ang pinakaunang dapat gawin (the first thing to do) is to change the people on the tower so they’re going to be cleared na magpasukan lahat ng commercial airplanes (will enter),” he narrated in a CNN Philippines interview.
Codog added that when his fellow captains brought their aircrafts as well, they decided to carry stranded people by mounting three to six flights a day.
These people are being brought to Butuan as electricity, communication signals, and food and water supplies are available in that province.
“Siargao is so devastated. I never thought that the area’s going to be like that because even the trees, everything there is down. You can see all brown already,” he said.
Codog stressed that at first, lots of people, mostly tourists, wanted to go out. However, they had to transport the vulnerable people first.
“We’re very small aircraft so our idea is to get first ‘yung mga sickly at saka mga bata (the sick people and the children). Wala muna nag-uunahan (no one is getting ahead),” he said.
“Pagbalik naman namin doon (Siargao), we’re bringing water and enough food because some of the relief goods, hindi nakakadating doon sa mga bayan bayan na maliliit,” he added.
(When we go back to Siargao, we're bringing water and enough food because some of the relief goods could not get delivered in small towns.)
Surigao del Norte Representative Francisco Jose Matugas II said on Saturday that almost 99% of the 180,000 population of Siargao Island, including tourists, were affected by Typhoon Odette.
The Siargao Airport terminal was also "totally damaged."
Further, Codog asked companies for aircraft fuels as the supply was limited and they still had to travel an hour to Ormoc City to get stock. Donations may be given on the tower of Siargao as they conduct their flight there every 30 minutes.
“I brought a lot of fuel already, which is very dangerous, but we have to do it in able to save a lot of kids,” he said.
He noted that seven to ten more planes could be added with enough fuel supplies to help more people.
On an Instagram post on Monday, Codog said that stranded individuals who want to go to Butuan City may go to Siargao Airport from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said on Monday that both the Surigao Airport and the Siargao Airport remain closed, except for government/military, emergency, cargo, and humanitarian flights.—AOL, GMA News