PH requests to search for missing Pinoys in earthquake-hit Myanmar

The Philippines has requested Myanmar to allow the team from Manila to search for missing Filipinos after the government decided to shift to retrieval operations for the victims of the earthquake, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said on Monday.

“Meron po kasi tayong pending request sa Myanmar…Hanggang sa ngayong araw na ito, hinihintay pa rin natin ang tugon ng Myanmar dito,” OCD spokesperson Atty. Chris Noel Bendijo told Super Radyo dzBB in an interview.

(We have a pending request to Myanmar, we are waiting for their response.)

“Sana mapagbigyan pa rin tayo para makapag-participate pa rin tayo. Kahit retrieval operations na po 'yung sinasabi ng Myanmar ay sana po payagan ang Philippine contingent na makapunta sa Mandalay,” he added.

(We hope that they will allow us to participate. Even if they are on retrieval operations, we hope that they will allow the Philippine contingent to go to Mandalay.)

Four Filipinos in Mandalay are still unaccounted for after the earthquake.

Bendijo said the Myanmar government on Sunday announced the shift from search and rescue to retrieval operations amid the “substantial” impact of the earthquake to structures.

“Hinihintay po natin 'yung magiging kahulugan nito dahil they are asking for demobilization of the contingent teams from different countries,” Bendijo said.

(We are watching out for its effect because they are asking for demobilization of the contingent teams from different countries.)

“To our understanding, 'yun pong ating Philippine medical assistance teams will be staying until April 10. Pagkatapos po saka lang magpeprepare for coming back to the Philippines,” he added.

(To our understanding, our Philippine medical assistance teams will be staying until April 10. After that, we will prepare for our return to the Philippines.)

Initially, Bendijo said the Philippines had asked Myanmar to deploy its team to Mandalay where the missing Filipinos were residing but it was not granted.

Bendijo said that the Philippine team is still hoping for “miracles” for the missing Filipinos.

The Philippine contingent with 89 members arrived in Myanmar in two batches on April 1 and 2 to help in the disaster response and relief mission for the earthquake victims.

The contingent, headed by Lieutenant Colonel Erwen S. Diploma, consists of urban search and rescue teams from the following groups:

• Philippine Army
• Philippine Air Force
• Bureau of Fire Protection
• Metropolitan Manila Development Authority
• Department of Environment and Natural Resources
• Private Sector (EDC and APEX Mining)

A medical assistance team from the Department of Health (DOH) and OCD coordinators were also part of the Philippine contingent.

On Sunday, Reuters reported that the death toll in Myanmar following the magnitude-7.7 earthquake on March 28 has reached 3,471 with 4,671 people injured and another 214 still missing.—AOL, GMA Integrated News