Soldiers aid Pablo victims

From the Visayan Daily Star (Dec 15): Soldiers aids Pablo victims

Soldiers of the Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade are also donating their one-day subsistence allowance for the victims of typhoon Pablo in Mindanao, their commander, Col Oscar Lactao, said yesterday. The 303rd Infantry Brigade supervises the security operations of three Army infantry battalions, excluding CAFGU members, in Negros Occidental alone. The subsistence allowance set aside by the 80,000-strong Philippine Army will generate funds for communities affected by the typhoon. The food allowance of members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is P90 per day.

Negrense Col. Ademar Tomaro yesterday said his unit, 602nd Infantry Brigade, is also raising funds to purchase relief goods for typhoon victims in Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental. Tomaro, 602nd Infantry Brigade commander, said thousands of residents in the two affected provinces in Mindanao are in dire need of support and assistance, in the form of food and clothing. The 7th, 40th and 57th Infantry Battalions are under the operational control of the 602nd Infantry Brigade with headquarters in Carmen, North Cotabato. Tomaro thanked local chief executives in Mindanao who responded to his call for help.

The National Democratic Front in Mindanao has declared a 29-day unilateral ceasefire -- from December 5 to January 3 -- in areas devastated by typhoon “Pablo” and has ordered units of the New People’s Army and other groups of the communist rebel movement to mount rescue and relief operations for the victims.

Among the fatalities in Compostela Valley was Army Sgt. Maximo Olivarez of Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental.  Olivarez, a member of the 66th Infantry Battalion, was among those alerted for search and rescue operations in the New Bataan town of Compostela Valley.

http://www.visayandailystar.com/2012/December/15/negor3.htm