CAMP AGUINALDO, Quezon City—The Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Chief of Staff General Andres C Centino PA reported to President Rodrigo Duterte the military’s accomplishments in its response to Typhoon Odette via video teleconferencing during the "Talk to the People" hosted by PRRD on 17 January 2022 from Davao City.
“Our personnel were immediately deployed to help in the prevention, mitigation, and response operations before, during, and after the typhoon to assist in the delivery and transport of relief goods, supplies, equipment, and personnel in the affected areas,” General Centino said.
He added that 9,079 personnel were deployed in regions 4B, 6, 7, 10, and 13 that were affected by Typhoon Odette and utilized 28 naval vessels, 30 aircraft, and 769 land assets.
A total of 522,675 kg of relief goods and equipment were transported by air, 4.1 million kg were ferried by sea, and 4.9 million kg were transported by land including the safe transport of 2,100 stranded individuals back to their communities with the support of its partner-stakeholders from private aviation and shipping companies. The AFP also assisted other government agencies in the delivery of basic services and private utility companies in the restoration of power and water supplies in the affected communities.
“With the activation of the AFP Civil-Military Coordination Center, we received and facilitated over 8-million kilos of relief goods from 460 donors,” General Centino said.
General Centino added that newly acquired assets were utilized in the transport, rapid damage assessment, evacuation, and clearing operations. These include the BRP Jose Rizal of the Philippine Navy, the Black Hawk helicopters of the Philippine Air Force, and the KM250 and engineering equipment of the Philippine Army.
The AFP deployed its Mobile Kitchen in Cebu that provided meals to 24,925 individuals and sent Carpentry teams to repair damaged houses. The BRP Ang Pangulo, which was converted as a floating hospital, served 1,614 patients in Siargao, according to the AFP Chief of Staff.
“While we have increased the deployment of our personnel in typhoon-affected areas, we assure the President that we still have sufficient forces deployed in other parts of the country to perform the mandate of the AFP to secure our communities from insurgents and terrorists,” General Centino said.
The AFP Chief of Staff then informed the President on the neutralization of Menandro Villanueva a.k.a. Bok, who was the commander of National Operational Command and Secretary of Southern Mindanao Regional Party Committee of the communist terrorist group. The AFP also neutralized Narodin Hassan a.k.a. Andot, head of the DI-Hassan group, who was responsible for the recent Mindanao Star Bus bombing.
“I would like to commend and salute the AFP for their toil. It is a toil to be there helping everybody, with the added feather on the cap — neutralizing communist leaders,” President Duterte said. “Sinasabi [nila] si Duterte inuuna yung mga sundalo. Kita mo naman ang trabaho ng sundalo. Utility workers itong mga sundalo; sa bagyo, baha, sunog, landslide, away, kanila yan. Wala ka namang ma-mobilize sa ganitong biglaan; sundalo lang talaga. Iyan ang matawag mong tumulong na hindi magsabi na hindi.”
“Salamat for all of these achievements so far that you have gathered. It is a never-ending job for you at hanggang ngayon nagpapasalamat ang mga tao, pati ako. Keep up the good work. You have my snappy salute” President Duterte added.
