Article by:
Christopher Lloyd Caliwan
MANILA – Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) have deployed close to 600 emergency vehicles to assist in relief operations amid Taal Volcano's unrest.
Speaking to President Rodrigo Duterte during the Talk to the People aired Tuesday night, Año reported that 527 fire trucks, 22 rescue trucks, 23 ambulances, and seven watercraft are on hand while emergency medical service personnel and search-and-rescue retrieval teams are on standby for contingencies.
"The PNP also deployed its own search-and-rescue retrieval teams consisting of 2,716 personnel, this is aside from the reactionary standby support force which is around 553 personnel," he added.
Since the start of the volcano's unrest on March 26, members of the Regional Reactionary Standby Support Force (RSSF) of the Police Regional 4A (Calabarzon) are on standby to augment rescue and relief operations, particularly in the towns of Agoncillo, Laurel, Balete, Talisay and Cuenca in Batangas.
Police officers have also been deployed in evacuation centers to ensure peace and order and to make sure health protocols are observed.
Año, meanwhile, expressed hope that the volcano's unrest will ease in the coming days so that its current Alert Level 3 can be downgraded.
'Odette' aid halted due to polls
In the same briefing, the DILG chief explained that the distribution of the "ayuda" or cash aid to beneficiaries affected by Typhoon Odette was suspended due to the election period in compliance with Commission on Elections Resolution No. 10747.
The resolution sets the rules and regulations on the prohibition of disbursement of public funds in connection with the May 9 polls.
"Based on our data, we have so far distributed PHP4.3 billion out of the PHP4.8 billion funds for 'Odette' assistance, which is equivalent to a disbursement rate of 89.10 percent. Around 4,156,592 individuals have benefitted from these aid funds," Año told Duterte. (PNA)
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