Quake victims in Davao de Oro receive aid from PH Red Cross

The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) has deployed its emergency medical services (EMS) team to Davao de Oro after a 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit the province anew on March 7.

In a press release on Tuesday, PRC Chairman and CEO Richard Gordon assured that the PRC remains a reliable help to the Filipinos in times of distress as he encouraged the public to become members of its village-based Red Cross 143 volunteer system.

“Ang Red Cross po ninyo ay inyong maaasahan sa panahon ng sakuna, kaya naman inaasahan din namin na kayo ang aming maging mata at tainga, na magbibigay sa amin ng impormasyon ukol sa mga nangyayari sa inyong barangay (You can always rely on the Red Cross in times of disaster, and so we expect that you be our eyes and ears who will give us information on what is happening in your respective villages),” Gordon said.

With the EMS team, the PRC also sent medical tents, food trucks, a water tanker, and trained psychological first aid providers to meet the needs of displaced families.

The PRC Hot Meals on Wheels served arroz caldo to 1,220 in- dividuals at Manat Gymnasium, the designated evacuation center in Barangay Manat, Nabunturan town, and at the Andap National High School evacuation center in New Bataan town, Compostela Valley province.

Meanwhile, the PRC water, sanitation, and hygiene team has set up a buffalo tank at the evacuation center for the immediate needs of families seeking shelter at the gymnasium.

Three PRC medical tents are also set up at the Davao De Oro Provincial Hospital that served as the immediate evacuation area for patients of the hospital while a PRC ambulance is on standby as of March 13 at the Andap National High School evacuation center in case of medical emergency.

Psychological first aid was also provided by the PRC Welfare Team to 62 adults and 88 children at the Andap National High School evacuation center.

Around 6,000 individuals currently staying at the Manat Gymnasium, Andap National High School, and New Leyte Elementary School in Maco town also benefited from the PRC water tanker that has distributed 35,000 liters of water.

An official of the City Cooperative Development Office (CCDO) on Tuesday suggested that transport cooperatives that will be affected by the looming implementation of the High Priority Bus System (HPBS) in Davao City may form a consortium to handle one route of the said project.

Luzminda Eblamo, officer-in-charge of the City Cooperative Development Office, said that CCDO is currently working on identifying a consortium of cooperatives that is capable of serving at least one route for HPBS and has financial capacity to do so.

The Department of Transportation (DoTr) states that HPBS has 29 bus routes divided into four levels: Metro Davao forms the core services connecting all major commercial centers with five routes, Davao Inter runs eight routes connecting urban areas directly to the central business of Davao. The Davao Feeder District runs nine routes that connect smaller centers and areas with more scattered populations to Metro Davao services, and Davao Local provides connectivity between the outer rural areas of the city and the main transportation system or integrated terminals.

“Yan ang aming gina work out we are trying to capacitate or organize a federation or a consortium of these transport coops but the challenge is are they ready to handle that route in terms of FCONSORTIUM, P10