It also said that no Filipino was hurt or killed in the powerful 6.3-magnitude tremor that struck Saturday based on the report of the Philippine embassy in Jakarta.
A Philippine Air Force C-130 plane will take the team of doctors, nurses, psychologists, orthopedic surgeons, sanitary engineers and trauma specialists to Jakarta before they head off to the hardest hit area of Yogyakarta, acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Franklin Ebdalin said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs, National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) met yesterday to discuss arrangements for the immediate deployment of the humanitarian mission pursuant to the instructions of President Arroyo.
Mrs. Arroyo on Sunday expressed sorrow over the disaster and pledged to immediately send a humanitarian mission to central Indonesia’s densely populated Java island where buildings were flattened and an estimated 200,000 people were left homeless in the wake of the tremor.
While sending out help to Indonesia, the President ordered disaster-response agencies to update contingency plans and conduct earthquake drills in schools, business districts and other crowded places.
Indonesia and the Philippines are prone to seismic activity because of their location along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
The embassy of Indonesia in Manila said its government "opens its doors to all humanitarian organizations and agencies."
It cited in a statement that "tens of thousands" were injured and now without homes in the aftermath of the earthquake.
In his report to the DFA, Ambassador to Jakarta Shulan Primavera said the number of fatalities had reached 3,340 and was expected to rise higher.
Wire reports said nearly 5,000 people were killed.
Primavera said Third Secretary and Vice Consul Voltaire Pingol, who was sent to Yogyakarta, has "not received any report indicating that Filipinos were among the casualties."
Indonesia’s Immigration record showed that as of mid-2005 there were 15 Filipinos registered as temporary residents of Yogyakarta. As the province is considered the cultural capital of Indonesia and an education center second to Jakarta, the embassy believes that most of the 15 Filipinos in Yogyakarta are students.
Primavera added that there were an estimated 15,000 injured, with 2,500 in serious condition, and around 150,000 displaced from their homes. The injured were treated in the streets because the hospitals are overwhelmed and people fear buildings collapsing due to aftershocks.
The embassy is awaiting the arrival of the Philippine humanitarian mission and is now coordinating with the concerned agencies in Jakarta for the immediate deployment of the Filipino medical experts to the earthquake-stricken areas.
On behalf of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, Ebdalin conveyed to the Indonesian government "the sincerest condolences on the tragedy that struck Yogyakarta last Saturday that has resulted in unimaginable losses in life and property" as he assured that "the Philippines is ready to assist our brothers and sisters in Indonesia during this time of need."
Romulo is currently in Putrajaya, Malaysia heading the Philippine Delegation to the Ministerial Meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement and Special Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77 and China, on May 28 and 29. — Pia Lee-Brago, AP, Jaime Laude