By Alec Go
The Philippines will deploy teams and assistance to Turkey following the magnitude 7.8 major earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said Tuesday, Feb. 1.
In an ambush interview, Marcos said they are organizing a 85-personnel team and are preparing goods for deployment.
“Ang hinahanap sa atin ay mga blanket, mga winter clothing dahil siyempre yung mga nasirahan ng bahay sa Turkey ay wala na silang matirahan, they’re exposed, so they need all of these things,” he said.
“We are organizing it already, and I already have the assurance also of the Turkish [Airlines] that they will be the ones to bring our people and our equipment and our goods to, I suppose to Ankara first, to be distributed properly in Turkey,” he added.
Marcos said the team may be deployed on Wednesday night.
“There’s also a danger kasi marami pang aftershock. They have to inspect also the buildings,” he said.
He said the teams will also be joined by engineers and health workers.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) held a meeting Tuesday to discuss the deployment of assets.
State-run news agency Anadolu reported that at least 3,381 individuals were killed and over 20,000 were injured in 10 provinces in Turkey.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has already declared a week-long national mourning period.
Citing a report from the health ministry, Syrian Arab News Agency said the death toll has risen to 812 while injuries reached over 1,400 in Aleppo, Lattakia, Hama, Idleb Countryside, and Tartous.
The Philippine Department of Science and Technology and Office of Civil Defense expressed sympathies to the victims of the quake. – gb
