Philippines mulls humanitarian contingent to quake-hit Morocco
MANILA, Philippines — The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) is currently looking into the possibility of deploying a humanitarian contingent to Morocco following the nation's strongest recorded earthquake in history.
A magnitude 6.8 quake jolted the North African country's High Atlas Mountains last September 8, leaving nearly 3,000 people dead and 5,600 injured.
"We are looking into the possible deployment of the Philippine Inter-Agency Humanitarian Contingent (PHIAC) to Morocco," said Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno, Civil Defense Administrator and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, Friday.
"The Office of Civil Defense (OCD), as the executive arm of NDRRMC, is already making arrangements for this. President Bongbong Marcos gave the instructions thru DND Sec Gilbert C. Teodoro Jr."
Marcos Jr. earlier extended his condolences to the Morrocan people, saying that Manila is ready to extend assistance and any other kind support needed for their swift recovery.
Search, rscue and retrieval operations are still ongoing in the affected areas, with the death toll still on the rise.
“We are deeply saddened by the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Morocco," continued Nepomuceno.
"We want to assure Morocco that the Philippines is more than willing to extend assistance to support the ongoing response operations. We are organizing a humanitarian contingent for possible deployment."
Team to be comprised of military, health workers
The OCD says that the humanitarian contingent will moost likely comprise of personnel from the following agencies, departments and organizations:
- 525th Engineering Combat Battalion-Philippine Army
- 505th Search and Rescue Group-Philippine Air Force
- Bureau of Fire Protection-Special Rescue Unit
- Metropolitan Manila Development Authority
- Davao Rescue 911
- Department of Health
It could be remembered that the Philippines last February sent an 82-man Philippine Inter-Agency Contingent (PHIAC) to Turkey to assist the response operations of the quake-ravaged country.
The magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria left 50,288 deaths and 125,857 injured individuals.
The OCD official likewise encouraged the public and other stakeholders to actively partake in earthquake resilience and endeavors of the country.
"It is terrifying that in just seconds, an earthquake could claim many lives and leave massive destruction," he added.
"Through the whole-of-government and whole-of-nation approach, we should strengthen our prevention, mitigation, and preparedness measures against earthquakes."
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