The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will further boost their joint disaster response operations, as the country faces overlapping threats from Tropical Storm Dante (Francisco), Severe Tropical Storm (STS) Emong (Co-May), the enhanced southwest monsoon, and the aftermath of STS Crising (Wipha).
In a statement Thursday, the OCD said these efforts are being implemented based on the whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach championed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., where civilian and uniformed responders act as one in crisis response.
The agency also acknowledged the strong support of Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., saying that his direction has been instrumental in ensuring synchronized operations between military and civilian agencies, especially in rapidly evolving emergencies.
Meanwhile, AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla reported the deployment of 33 disaster response task units and search, rescue, and retrieval teams, comprising 316 personnel, to the hardest-hit areas in Northern Luzon and the Visayas.
The military has 1,027 land assets, 48 flyable air assets, and 25 sea vessels on standby across major islands.
In Metro Manila, AFP units were mobilized for “Libreng Sakay” (free ride) services in the flood-affected areas of Malabon, Navotas, and Quezon City.
In Palawan, joint AFP and local disaster risk reduction management teams conducted rescue operations in response to calls from distressed communities, while reservists aided relief distribution in Brooke’s Point.
Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites are also on standby, which can serve as staging areas for repacking, command and control, or receiving international humanitarian aid, depending on the needs of the situation.
“These sites remain ready for use at any moment, in coordination with the AFP,” OCD officer-in-charge Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said.
As this developed, the OCD confirmed the intensified coordination between the AFP and the United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) to strengthen ongoing disaster response operations in the country.
This development follows directives from Marcos and high-level discussions between Philippine and US defense officials.
Teodoro, who is also National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council chair, also announced the immediate deployment of the US INDOPACOM Crisis Action Team to the Philippines, which will work in tandem with the AFP to support rescue and relief efforts. He added that this is part of the assistance between the two countries in times of calamities.
“Naka-activate po ang mga EDCA site para sa relief goods, at ang mga air assets at iba pang kagamitan mula sa combined Armed Forces of the Philippines at US INDOPACOM ay gagamitin po para sa mabilisang paghatid ng tulong (EDCA sites are now activated for relief goods, and air assets and other equipment from the AFP and US INDOPACOM will be used for the speedy deployment of aid),” he said.
Teodoro said the Philippines and the United States, along with allied nations, are maintaining close coordination to ensure continued assistance to calamity-affected communities.
The defense chief also said US INDOPACOM commander Admiral Samuel Paparo has canceled his other engagements and is flying back to Hawaii to oversee the mobilization of assets and operations on their end. (PNA)
