MANILA, Philippines - The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is ready to dispatch another batch of peacekeepers to Haiti to assist in the ongoing joint disaster operations in the quake-devastated Caribbean nation.
AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said 155 members of the 11th Peacekeeping Contingent are now assembled at their headquarters in Capas, Tarlac awaiting an advance deployment order from Malacañang for them to leave.
“If there is a need to augment our contingent now in Haiti, elements of our 11th contingent are now intact and ready to leave,” he said.
Brawner added they are awaiting approval from the UN for the advance deployment of Filipino peacekeepers since they would be working under the direct supervision of the UN peacekeeping force.
“President Arroyo has already ordered AFP chief Gen. Victor Ibrado to prepare the 11th RP contingent for deployment to Haiti. They would link up with the 10th contingent there,” Brawner said.
The AFP expressed hope that the three unaccounted Filipino soldiers trapped underneath the rubble of the collapsed Christopher Hotel in the capital Port Au Prince are still alive.
Brawner, quoting an update from Lt. Col. Lope Dagoy, the commander of the 10th RP Peacekeeping Contingent in Haiti, said rescuers have been hearing voices and other signals coming from inside the collapsed United Nations Stabilization Mission (MINUSTAH), the five-story hotel that served as the UN main peacekeeping headquarters.
Aside from voices, rescuers also monitored several tapping of twisted metal and pipes coming from inside the collapsed structure, Brawner said.
He said the Filipino soldiers, along with their foreign counterparts, have yet to get through the rubble of the collapsed building due to lack of disaster and rescue equipment in the area.
“The efforts of our troops now are on the second floor of the five-story hotel because this is where most of the officers along with our three unaccounted personnel are located,” Brawner said.
The trapped Filipino soldiers are Philippine Navy Data Processing-3 (DP-3) officer Perlie Panagui, Sgt. Janice Arocena of the Philippine Air Force and Sgt. Eustaquio Bermudez of the Philippine Army.
Jerome Yap, administrative officer of the Principal Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Haiti, is also believed trapped at the Christopher Hotel. Yap is among the 40 Filipinos working as international staff of the UN in Haiti.
Army Cpl. David Catacutan, on the other hand, was rescued inside a gymnasium located at the basement of Montana Hotel.
The four Filipino soldiers were members of the 10th AFP peacekeeping contingent to Haiti whose six-month tour of duty under the auspices of the UN peacekeeping operations in Haiti, was to end next month.
But because of the tragedy, the RP peacekeeping contingent might stay awhile to assist in the ongoing disaster operations in Haiti, Brawner said.
After the 7.0 magnitude quake that hit capital Port-au- Prince, Filipino peacekeepers were among the first to conduct search and rescue operations.
Aside from search and rescue operations, some Filipino soldiers have been deployed to secure vital areas to prevent looting due to temporary lack of food supplies and other commodities.
Payback
President Arroyo also ordered the Department of Health (DOH) to deploy medical teams to Haiti.
DOH director for Health Emergency Management Staff Dr. Carmencita Banatin, on the other hand, said they are preparing to dispatch the medical team of 20 health professionals before Monday.
Banatin added the “trauma” teams would be composed of nurses, water sanitation experts, psychiatrists, surgeons, orthopedics, anesthesiologists and nurses.
Mrs. Arroyo said it was time for the Philippines to repay the international community for helping Filipinos in the aftermath of killer storms “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” last year.
The President sent a personal message to Haiti President Rene Garcia Preval, conveying the Philippines’ profound condolences and pledging the support and assistance of the country to rescue and recovery efforts.
“The Filipino nation joins the international community in expressing sympathy and support to the Republic of Haiti over the recent earthquake that has claimed the lives of a yet undetermined number of people, injured many more and caused widespread destruction of property,” Mrs. Arroyo said.
“It is our fervent wish that Haiti recovers quickly and fully from this tragedy,” she added.
Mrs. Arroyo told the Haitian leader that the Philippines is ready to provide support just as the international community has consistently provided assistance whenever the Philippines was faced with tragedy.
Mrs. Arroyo said the Philippine government is coordinating with the UN to ensure the safety and rescue of trapped Filipino peacekeepers in Haiti.
She said action has also been taken to ensure the safety of the estimated 290 Filipinos working in Haiti as missionaries, volunteers, UN personnel and business executives.
Philippine Ambassador to Cuba MacArthur Corsino has been directed to go to Haiti to personally check on the safety of the Filipinos in the quake-stricken country and coordinate rescue efforts.
Rescued
Two of the three Filipino workers trapped underneath a crumbled supermarket in Haiti have been rescued, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported yesterday.
DFA spokesman Eduardo Malaya said Aurora Aguinaldo and Grace Fabian, two of three Filipinos working at the Caribbean Supermarket in Port-au-Prince, were rescued after being trapped since the earthquake struck the capital Tuesday.
Aguinaldo was rescued earlier as announced by DFA Undersecretary Esteban Conejos who cited the report made by 10th Philippine Contingent Commander Lt. Colonel Lope Dagoy that said Geraldine Calican is still trapped in the collapsed supermarket.
“There are at present five remaining Filipinos who are still to be rescued – three Filipino peacekeepers, one UN staff member and a Filipino community leader,” Malaya announced.
The DFA said a task force continues to search for and make an accounting of Filipinos in Haiti.
Filipinos who were able to contact the Philippine Contingent reported that they are all safe even though some of them suffered minor injuries. Filipinos in the neighborhood of Delmas 41 and 42 are also safe, Conejos added.
“As of this time, communication lines in Haiti are still down. We rely only on satellite phones and the UN satellite communications system at the UN headquarters in New York. This is the reason why our information is limited at this time,” Conejos told the news briefing.
Sen. Loren Legarda, for her part, urged the DFA to expedite the search and rescue of Filipinos still unaccounted for in Haiti.
“I extend my deepest sympathies to the victims and their families, and I call on the DFA to move fast, find out the whereabouts of all the Filipinos in Haiti and ensure their welfare,” Legarda said. –With Marvin Sy, Pia Lee-Brago, Sheila Crisostomo, Christina Mendez, Charlie Lagasca