Gov’t deploys aid, readies air assets to help victims of Kristine

PHOTO: Official Facebook page of Coast Guard District Bicol

MANILA, Philippines — The government readies its assets to help those affected by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name: Trami) in the Bicol region, said Office of Civil Defense Director Edgar Posadas on Thursday.

In a Palace briefing, he said that air assets were prepositioned at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City and in Cebu City.

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“As we speak, the commitments of [Defense] Secretary Teodoro are already being collected through the J3 [or Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations]. In fact, I’ve already seen the list of equipment,” Posadas said in a mix of Filipino and English.

“We also have 17 air assets pre-positioned in Villamor and Cebu, which are readily deployable, weather permitting, because we need to ensure that our pilots and assets are safe. This is our commitment, and we are going to uphold it,” he added.

Posadas added that other government assistance is already on the way to Bicol and other provinces affected by the flood.

“And as we speak, assistance is also arriving in Bicol. First, I mentioned the aid coming from Solcom [Southern Luzon Command], which is the area command nearest to Bicol and Region VIII, the nearby region from Tacloban,” he said.

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Moreover, he said that the Philippine government is already coordinating with neighboring countries for assistance in the distribution of aid to victims of Kristine.

He said Teodoro has already spoken with Singapore Ambassador to the Philippines Constance See, as well as officials from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei regarding the potential utilization of their assets to facilitate the aid distribution.