FORT BONIFACIO, Metro Manila- The Philippine Army mobilizes its forces to deliver relief goods in Cagayan today, September 17, 2018 to help the victims of Typhoon Ompong that caused severe damage in most areas of Northern Luzon.
Army soldiers on board six military trucks (Russian type) carrying tons of relief goods composed of 822 sacks of rice donated by benevolent donors from Davao City drove all the way to Cagayan. In the process, they also fetched relief goods that were repacked at the Headquarters of the 5th Infantry “Star” Division, Philippine Army in Isabela to be turned-over to the Local Government Units (LGUs) of said province.
Despite of unfavorable weather condition and terrain, the troops painstakingly transported the goods intended to the affected populace. This humanitarian effort is in support to the national government initiative spearheaded by no less than President Rodrigo R. Duterte for cohesive disaster response.
The Philippine Army had exerted all effort for interventions in coordination with concerned government agencies to save precious lives and properties. Significantly, during post disaster response operation, the Philippine Army sustain its effort by way of transporting relief goods and basic subsistence which is seriously needed by our constituents especially in areas that were isolated.
Army Spokesperson Lt. Col. Louie Villanueva said that the Philippine Army has the mandate to support the government as part Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief to mitigate the impact of natural disasters in the human lives.
On the other hand, Lt. Gen. Rolando Joselito D. Bautista, Philippine Army Commanding General said that, “in this challenging times, we need to rebuild the hope and aspiration of our citizen by working together as a community to achieve our common goal with our unique Filipino culture of bayanihan.”
“As soldiers, though our competency is war-fighting, we are still human and have the compassion to help and extend our capacity to our people. We find it most rewarding when we see our constituents being alleviated by our effort”, Bautista added. #