Arroyo: Mobilize military, police to help landslide victims
By Joel Guinto
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 13:09:00 09/08/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) to mobilize the military and police in rescue and relief efforts for victims of twin landslides in the southern province of Compostela Valley, her spokesman said.
At least 11 people were killed, 17 others were injured, and 19 were missing after landslides, triggered by heavy rains, buried several houses in the villages of Poblacion and Masara in Maco town, according to the Office of Civil Defense.
"President Arroyo extends her condolences to the families that were affected in the landslide in Compostela Valley," said Anthony Golez, deputy presidential spokesman and concurrent spokesman of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC).
"The President has also instructed the NDCC to make sure that the police and the military are assisting the local disaster coordinating council in its efforts to search and rescue missing persons in the tragedy," he added.
At the same time, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., the NDCC chairman, mobilized the Department of Health (DoH) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to help the affected families, Golez said.
Rice was also distributed to those in evacuation centers, Golez said.
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