Soldiers of the 39th Infantry Battalion assisted the Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (LDRRMC) of Makilala to rebuild the tent city, which was damaged by a strong hailstorm on Monday afternoon.
Lt. Col. Ezra Balagtey, the spokesperson of Eastern Mindanao Command, said the soldiers were pulled out of their relief operations to assist the soaked evacuees from four evacuation areas. They will then help the 534th and 512th engineering battalions.
It can be recalled that Eastern Mindanao Command raised the alert level and ordered the activation of the Humanitarian and Disaster Response Task Force to assist the different disaster risk management councils following the series of earthquakes last month.
Presently, EastMinCom is overseeing the disaster response through the 10th ID, which utilizes the 1002nd Infantry Brigade, 901st Infantry Brigade, 512th Engineering Battalion, 534th Engineering Battalion, and 10th Division Emergency Response Company.
In Davao City, the 11th Forward Service Support Unit has been expanded into a Joint Logistics Center to support and forward the logistical needs of National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council in the affected areas.
On the other hand, air assets from the Tactical Operations Wing-Eastern Mindanao are being used in rescue operations and shipment of relief goods. On Nov. 11, 2019, two AFP mobile kitchen trucks were likewise deployed in Kidapawan to be utilized by evacuation centers in the area.
Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. Felimon T. Santos thanked the sacrifices of the soldiers to help the quake-ravaged communities.
“You showed the finest virtue of service. Despite being a victim also of the calamity, we responded timely and selflessly and tirelessly committed ourselves and our unit to the most needy,” he said.
