THE Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has cited the roles played by the Philippine National and the Bureau of Fire (BFP) in attending to the needs of those victimized by Tropical Storm ‘Agaton’ that swept thru the Visayas before the Holy Week.
DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año, in a statement on April 19, 2022, said nearly 9,000 members of the PNP and the BFP were deployed “and braved the onslaught of Typhoon Agaton in the Visayas region to assist in evacuation and search and rescue operations.”
“Responding to the urgent need to assist our kababayans, a total of 8,823 men and women from both the PNP and BFP were deployed in major areas of the Visayas region affected and hit by Agaton,” Año said.
Monitoring by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Agency (PAGASA) showed that Agaton, international name, ‘Megi,’ made landfall last
April 8, particularly affecting the provinces of Leyte, Samar, Cebu and Capiz.
“Bago pa man magland-fall ay nakaposisyon na ang ating mga bumbero at kapulisan upang tiyakin ang kaligtasan ng ating mga kababayan,” Año said.
“Sila po ay nakipagtulungan sa mga pamahalaang lokal sa pagsasagawa ng evacuation at search and rescue operations,” he added.
Año said 5,230 firefighters; 404 Emergency Medical Services; and, 698 Search, Rescue and Retrieval (SRR) personnel from the BFP were deployed in various local government units (LGUs) hit by the said typhoon.
He said 6,332 BFP personnel were positioned and were on stand-by in 14 landslide-prone areas of Regions VI, VIII and CARAGA with “the full force of the Fire Bureau deployed in Regions V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, CARAGA and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.”
The BFP, Año added, also mobilized 1,010 firetrucks, 30 hazmat/rescue trucks, 28 ambulances and 11 watercrafts which were utilized to respond to evacuation and search and rescue operations.
“All hands on-deck ang BFP sa pagtugon sa mga hamon nitong si Agaton,” the DILG chief noted. “Inilaan ng BFP ang mga resources na ito na rumesponde sa mga lugar na nakaranas nang matinding pag-ulan,” he said.
Meanwhile, the DILG chief said the PNP deployed a total of 2,491 police officers in high-risk and hard-hit areas in Regions VIII and CARAGA.
Of this number, 2,434 were from the PNP Reactionary Standby Support Force; 48 police officers; four were deployed in evacuation centers; two in vacated areas; and, two in evacuated communities.
When Agaton finally dissipated during the Holy Week, it left some 224 dead, 147 missing and 8 injured, according to the report by the National Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC). Total damage to crops and properties were placed at over P4.5 billion.