Philippines prepares assistance for earthquake-hit Myanmar
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine government has announced its scheduled assistance for its Southeast Asian neighbor Myanmar, recently hit by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake that killed over a thousand people.
A total of 114 Filipino personnel will be deployed to assist in the situation in Myanmar, said the Philippines’ Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) in a statement on Saturday, March 29.
“The Philippine Emergency Medical Assistance Team (PEMAT) from the Department of Health is on standby, consisting of 31 personnel. In addition, one light Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team each from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and Apex Mining Corporation/First Gen-Energy Development Corporation (EDC) SRR Teams will [have] 80 personnel,” the OCD said.
“This number also includes three members of the ASEAN Emergency Response and Assessment Team (ASEAN-ERAT) requested by the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA) to travel to Myanmar by March 30, 2025,” it added.
Meanwhile, the OCD said the tentative date for the deployment of the Philippine delegation is scheduled on April 1, with a duration of two weeks.
Following the destructive earthquake, Myanmar has requested assistance from other countries for search and rescue teams, medical teams, medicines, medical equipment, first aid kids, and temporary shelters, among others.
“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,” Manila’s defense chief Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said.
The catastrophic earthquake hit Myanmar on Friday, March 28, causing deaths and massive destruction in the Southeast Asian country. The tremors affected even China and Thailand, with Bangkok recording at least six fatalities, 26 injuries, and 47 people missing, according to the Philippines’ OCD.
Manila’s embassy in Yangon, Myanmar, announced that it was currently gathering information about the status of Filipinos who might be affected by the earthquake “in order to determine resources necessary to assist them, including the deployment of a team on the ground to conduct welfare checks on them.” The embassy added that those who would need relocation or repatriation would be assisted by the embassy.
The Philippine embassy in Thailand, meanwhile, said it was continuing its monitoring, adding that it had yet to receive any report of Filipino nationals harmed in Thailand due to the disaster. The embassy also dispelled the disinformation that 10 Filipinos died in Thailand due to the earthquake.
For emergencies, the two Philippine embassies may be reached through the following details:
Myanmar: Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) hotline (+95 998 521 0991) or the official Philippine Embassy in Myanmar Facebook Messenger
Thailand: ATN hotline +66 81 989 7116 or email at bangkok.pe@dfa.gov.ph
– Jairo Bolledo/Rappler.com