Task Force Bangon Marawi receives relief donations from Asean

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) expressed support for the Philippine government by sending relief items to benefit internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Marawi City.

Through its Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Response (AHA Centre), the Asean handed over on Friday 600 family tents, 600 family kits, more than 300 personal hygiene kits, 600 kitchen sets, and 4 water filtration units.

“Today we witness the realization of One Asean, One Response. In the spirit of Asean solidarity, we are supporting the government and the people of the Philippines in the form of Asean relief items,” AHA Centre Acting Executive Director Adelina Kamal said during the turnover ceremony in Misamis Oriental.

“This is one of the moments where the vision of One Asean, One Response is no longer an imagination but a realization,” she added.

The Philippines is a signatory to the September 2016 One Asean, One Response declaration, which harnesses the individual and collective strengths of different sectors and stakeholders for effective disaster response within and beyond the region.

The declaration is also in accordance with the Asean Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER), which is the main regional framework for cooperation, coordination, technical assistance and resource mobilization in all aspects of disaster management.

The relief items were received by Task Force Bangon Marawi Executive Director and Defense Undersecretary for Defense Operations Cesar Yano, Vice Chairperson for Disaster Response and Social Welfare and Development Secretary Judy Taguiwalo, and Office of Civil Defense Officer-In-Charge Asec. Kristoffer James Purisima.

“AHA Centre has been a very excellent partner of the NDRRMC (National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council) in dealing with major incidents that have happened in past, offering and sending support and assistance,” Undersecretary Cesar Yano said.

Yano added that the Asean’s donation would contribute, in no small measure, to the success of the government’s post-disaster operations.

While initial efforts by Task Force Bangon Marawi to reconstruct and rehabilitate the war-torn city have begun, the NDRRMC Operations Center reported 5,055 families (27,335 persons) staying in 89 evacuation centers and 98,846 families (442,981 persons) housed with relatives and friends.

On Monday, Department of Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial said 40 home-based Marawi evacuees died.

Twenty percent are due to complications of gastroenteritis, 15 percent are due to pneumonia, and 12.5 percent due to sepsis, Ubial said. Rogelio Nato, Jr., trainee