Thank you, Iloilo City

By Alex P. Vidal

“Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo

THIS is another feather in the cap of the Iloilo City Government that Ilonggos around the world should be proud of.

Soon after the magnitude 7.8 earthquake walloped the coast of Maasim, Sarangani and devastated many parts of Mindanao June 8, the Iloilo City Government was the first local government (LGU) in the Philippines to reach out and offer assistance to the affected communities.

Without much fanfare and delay, Mayor Raisa Maria Lourdes Sarabia Treñas-Chu immediately instructed the Iloilo City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) to coordinate with its counterparts in General Santos City to determine the extent of the damage and identify urgent needs on the ground.

“The Iloilo city government is prepared to extend assistance to General Santos City following the earthquake that struck this morning,” Treñas-Chu said in a statement released June 8 as reported by Dr. Hazel Villa.

The mayor directed the CDRRMO to communicate with the General Santos City disaster officials and “await an official assessment to ensure that any aid sent by Iloilo City would be responsive to the most pressing requirements of affected communities.”

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“We will await their official assessment and report to ensure that the assistance we provide is responsive to their most urgent needs,” she added.

Treñas-Chu’s statement reverberated around the world through the power of the social and mainstream media. It reached the attention of many Filipinos abroad in a split second.

The world was reminded of how caring and affectionate the Ilonggos are especially in times of calamities and other tragedies.

Death toll has risen to 47, 17 remained missing, and 487 have been injured, as of this writing.

The Philippines’ Office of Civil Defense reported that most of the additional fatalities were found in Davao Occidental province, largely as a result of a landslide and buildings collapsing.

More than 33,000 households, equivalent to around 150,000 people, have been affected by the disaster, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council,

Aftershocks continue to be recorded across Mindanao Island and several areas in the central Philippines, with more than 1,700 tremors.

The earthquake struck at 7:37 a.m. June 8 and was initially measured by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) at magnitude 7.0 event before being upgraded to magnitude 7.8.

Over 2,000 PNP personnel deployed as full-scale response continues after Mindanao Quake.

The quake’s epicenter was located about 32 kilometers southwest of Maasim, Sarangani.

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As this developed, residents continued to stay in evacuation centers as relief operations and damage assessments proceeded in affected provinces.

Government data showed widespread destruction to residential structures, with many homes sustaining either partial or total damage, prompting residents to stay and sleep outside their homes.

Rescue teams remained deployed in areas where collapsed buildings and landslides were reported, particularly in parts of General Santos City and Sarangani.

Phivolcs has warned residents to remain vigilant as aftershocks continued to be recorded following the powerful quake.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visited General Santos City to personally assessed the damage caused by the massive quake, while Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio visited earthquake-stricken communities in Sarangani province and General Santos where she met with victims.

Classes in hard-hit areas remain suspended.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)