Army provides relief for 'Pablo' victims

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - Three military trucks rolled out Friday from the 1st Army Division in Camp Pulacan in Zamboanga del Sur on a mission with no soldiers on board, but loads of relief goods to help the government’s struggle in providing food and clothing to thousands of victims of typhoon Pablo in Compostela Valley Province.

Maj. Gen. Ricardo Rainier Cruz III, 1st Army Division commander, said the military trucks, which will travel for hundreds of kilometers to reach the devastated areas, left loaded with provisions of relief consolidated from different units and stakeholders within the division area of responsibility.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that 19,212 families or about 79,885 dependents have remained in 63 evacuation centers in the provinces of Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley.

There were so far 902 deaths recovered and 934 have remained missing.

Cruz said the relief goods were part of the personal support of the soldiers from the field units.

“We hope that this assistance we have provided would ease the suffering of the survivors. This is a support from our troops to our kababayan’s, a long time effort of the Army in serving the Filipino people,” Cruz said.