PAF to hold send-off for Myanmar quake response mission on April 1, 2025

A send-off ceremony will be conducted for the Philippine Contingent for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response Mission to Myanmar on Tuesday, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) said Monday.

In an advisory, the PAF said the ceremony will be held at Base Operations, Colonel Jesus Villamor Air Base, Pasay City at 4 a.m. on Tuesday.

The Philippine government on Saturday said it is working to provide humanitarian aid to Myanmar, which was hit by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake on Friday that killed more than 1,000 people. A total of 114 personnel are expected to be deployed.

The Office of Civil Defense said that a critical inter-agency meeting was assembled to coordinate the Philippine response and deliver needed support for affected victims.

"We stand in solidarity with Myanmar during this difficult time. The Philippines is ready to respond to the urgent needs of our neighbors, and we are mobilizing resources to provide assistance as quickly as possible,” said Defense Secretary and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) chairman Gilberto Teodoro Jr.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Myanmar. The Office of Civil Defense, along with other government agencies, is committed to assisting Myanmar, drawing from our experience in providing immediate aid during the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria,” added OCD Administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno.

The death toll in Myanmar due to the March 28 earthquake has already reached around 1,700, and 3,400 were injured and over 300 missing as of Sunday, the military government said.

Four Filipinos were reported unaccounted for after the earthquake. —Joviland Rita/KG, GMA Integrated News