Over 27,000 disaster response cops deployed nationwide amid Typhoon Betty
MANILA, Philippines — In response to the looming threat of Typhoon Betty (international name: Mawar), the Philippine National Police (PNP) announced on Monday that over 27,000 police disaster response personnel have been dispatched to assist local government units (LGUs) nationwide in possible preemptive evacuation, rescue, and relief operations.
PNP said it mobilized personnel in Police Regional Offices 1, 2, 3, and Cordillera to work with local chief executives in Northern Luzon provinces expected to be impacted by the approaching storm, Betty.
“Police units at the municipal, city, and provincial levels are under specific instructions to keep all national highways and thoroughfares clear of road debris and obstruction to ensure unhampered passage of emergency vehicles, rescue equipment, and relief aid convoys to disaster-affected areas,” PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. said in a press briefing.
He added that police units are on standby to assist the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office to ensure security and organized delivery of relief supplies in designated warehouses and distribution hubs.
Additionally, Acorda said the police force also deployed its personnel to aid LGUs in Western sections of Visayas, Mimaropa, and Calabarzon, which may likely experience flash floods and landslides due to strong winds and rains caused by enhanced southwest monsoon or “habagat.”
“At present, we have 4,650 trained personnel for water search and rescue, 7,371 trained personnel for Search and Rescue (SAR), 8,806 Life Vest, 77 SAR Boats, and 1,730 units of SAR equipment-vehicles with 1,496 personnel carriers, and 234 units of Troop Carrier, including 625 portable electric generator sets,” Acorda said.
“These vehicles will be utilized whenever there is a need to relocate those who will be affected by Typhoon Betty,” he added.
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