PNP prepares rescue units, relief goods for typhoon victims

MANILA, Philippines–The Philippine National Police on Tuesday said it has prepared for distribution 10,000 blankets, food packs and other relief goods for residents of towns ravaged by Typhoon “Pablo” in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

Chief Superintendent Bernardo Florece Jr., chief of the PNP task force on disaster preparedness, said Tuesday that the Special Action Force, the Maritime Group and local police units had also pre-positioned more than 300 water assets and rescue equipment.

“The PNP had already prepared nonperishable goods, bottles of mineral water, food packs and other items needed by people affected by this typhoon,” Florece told reporters.

He said the police convened its own disaster response teams in northern Mindanao and Caraga regions to provide assistance to local government units.

He said PNP chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome directed police officials in nearby regions to prepare their police rescue teams for possible deployment to typhoon-hit provinces.

Bartolome said PNP search and rescue units and equipment were already sent to provinces in the country’s eastern seaboard.

The PNP chief said all police offices in Mindanao and three regions in the Visayas were placed on full alert to ensure that all police personnel would be available in disaster response operations.

“The lessons we learned from our experiences in the series of weather disturbances in 2009 … should prompt us to find better ways of ensuring readiness to effectively address similar situations,” Bartolome said in a statement.

To prevent unscrupulous traders from taking advantage of the situation, Bartolome also ordered the PNP investigative units to help the Department of Trade and Industry in “monitoring market conditions for price control violations and unfair trade practices.”