CAMP AQUINO, Tarlac City — The Northern Luzon Command (NOLCOM) in partnership with the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Council (RDRRMC) will be sending added assistance from different Local Government Units, Non-Government Associations and Armed Forces of the Philippines whom all volunteered to their time and effort to help the typhoon victims in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
Due to the outrage caused by Typhoon Ompong multiple landslides happened in the areas of CAR particularly in Apayao, Benguet, Baguio City, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Mountain Province. A total of 54 casualties were reported, 32 were injured and rescued by the NOLCOM Disaster Response Team deployed in the area and 42 individuals are still missing.
Troopers from NOLCOM together with other concerned agencies are exerting their utmost effort in conducting rescue and retrieval operations in CAR. Undergoing such rigorous circumstances, with only minimal equipment at hand, Disaster Response Teams are still delving through the massive volume of hard, wet soil, with a sense of urgency hoping to still save some of the victims from the landslide.
With the situation at hand, NOLCOM is closely coordinating with its partners to devise plans of actions to execute at the site to reach maximum efficiency in their operations. Commander of NOLCOM LTGEN EMMANUEL B SALAMAT AFP is personally at the incident site to provide frontline leadership and guidance to the operating teams. LTGEN SALAMAT also sympathizes with everyone who lost their homes and loved ones because of the incidents caused by Ompong.
The joint efforts of NOLCOM and its partners led to the discovery and retrieval of 54 bodies as well as extrication of 32 more individuals from the incident sites. The relentless “Bayanihan” efforts of the stakeholders’ sets as a catalyst for the success of the rescue and retrieval operations being conducted in CAR.
NOLCOM will continue to intensify its efforts and selfless service for its people (NOLCOM / PIA)
