NDRRMC vows immediate assistance for Mindanao quake victims

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Saturday reiterated its vow to provide immediate assistance to the affected communities of the magnitude 6.8 earthquake that hit Davao Occidental on Friday.

The council gave the assurance after the response cluster meeting, which was presided over by Vice President Sara Duterte at the NDRRMC Operations Center in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

The NDRRMC said various government agencies reported their respective ongoing response actions, including the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Education (DepEd), Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Meanwhile, Duterte said in a Facebook video that calamities such as the Mindanao quake showed the importance of earthquake drills and disaster preparedness. 

“Sa mga kalamidad na katulad nito, lumalabas po ang kahalagahan ng ating mga earthquake drills at iba pang pagsasanay para sa kahandaan. Manatili po tayong kalmado, matatag, at magkakaisa,” said Duterte.

NDRRMC Chairman and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said in Bernadette Reyes' 24 Oras Weekend report, “Lahat naman ng ahensiya ay supisyente ang supplies nila at stocks nila upang matugunan ang pangangailangan ng mga LGUs.”

(All agencies have sufficient supplies to respond to the needs of the LGUs.)

The Department of Social Welfare and Development, which said it had a P1.4-billion quick response fund available to it, assured the families who lost their homes or had their houses damaged would receive relief goods and financial assistance.

According to a Super Radyo dzBB report, DSWD Assistant Secretary Rommel Lopez said they had yet to receive the exact number of families affected by the tremor in Regions 10, 11, and 12.

Lopez reported that DSWD field offices experienced communication problems and were unable to collate their information on Friday night.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who is still in the US after attending the APEC Summit, earlier said that he was willing to go home if there were measures that only he could execute following the strong earthquake in Mindanao.

“Well, if there’s something that needs to be done that cannot be done by anybody but myself, I will go home,” said Marcos.

The President added, “Government agencies do not need directives from me anymore. They know what to do.

“But as I said, alam na nila ang gagawin eh (they already know what to do). That’s my hope – we tried to organize the government in such a way that these are standard operating procedures already. You don’t have to question, 'What do we do next?' Nakasulat na lahat ‘yan (all that has been written down),” added Marcos. 

On Friday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) reported that a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Davao Occidental around 4:14 p.m.

The quake's epicenter was 34 kilometers northwest of Sarangani Island (Davao Occidental) and had a depth of 72 kms.

"As of today, the earthquake affected 180 families or 1,509 individuals. Of which, 1,074 were displaced," the agency said.

The quake damaged some 60 houses, 32 structures, and also caused 21 power interruptions.

The death toll climbed to seven; three of the fatalities were from General Santos City; two were from Glan and one in Malapatan, Sarangani; and one in Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental. — Jiselle Casucian/Jamil Santos/DVM, GMA Integrated News