4 soldiers distributing relief goods in Capiz injured in vehicular mishap

From the Philippine News Agency (Nov 14): 4 soldiers distributing relief goods in Capiz injured in vehicular mishap

Four Army soldiers were injured when the 6X6 military truck they were riding sideswiped a leaning electric post in Barangay Ondoy, Ivisan, Capiz.

Lt. Col. Christopher Sabit, commander of the 61st Infantry Battalion, 3rd Infantry (Spearhead) Division (3ID), Philippine Army, identified the injured as S/Sgt. Edwin Juaneza, S/Sgt. Sammy Lapidez, Sgt. Bernardo Vijar and Cpl. Jessie Alegria.

Sabit said the four Army troopers suffered injuries mostly on their heads after the support bars of the long-bed military truck hit the leaning electric post of Capiz Electric Cooperative that was damaged by the strong winds at the height of super typhoon Yolanda.

The Army soldiers on board the military truck came from Cuartero, Capiz where they distributed relief goods to typhoon victims. The accident happened as they were on their way back to the 3ID headquarters in Camp Macario Peralta, Jamindan in the same province.

The injured soldiers are now in stable condition after they were given immediate medical treatment at a private hospital in Roxas City.

The 61IB commander Sabit also said that some road networks that were rendered impassable the past few days after the typhoon devastation are now passable for all types of vehicles.

These road networks include the Tapaz-Iloilo, Sigma-Roxas, Sigma-Passi-Iloilo, Roxas-Dumalag and Iloilo-Barotac Viejo-Carles routes.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is actively involved in the government’s humanitarian effort in helping typhoon victims that sometimes cost them their lives due to enemy atrocities while doing their noble job in times of calamity.

In Northern Iloilo, mobs of hungry victims poked guns on soldiers of the Philippine Air Force and volunteers while distributing relief goods in Isla Gigantes of Carles, Iloilo only to get the needed food stuff to feed their starving families.

The Iloilo provincial government also appealed to victims of calamity to exercise sobriety and refrain from scrambling for relief goods and leave the distribution of the food stuff to the personnel of authorized government entities.

Petty crimes are now on the rise in Northern Iloilo as hungry people steal food to fill their empty stomach while rising prices of prime commodities was reported as unscrupulous traders take advantage of the situation.

Gasoline is sold at exorbitant prices per liter while chainsaw operators demand higher charges of at least P500 for every tree they could cut blocking the road.

Typhoon-affected towns particularly in Northern Iloilo are not completely reached by the relief efforts of the Iloilo provincial government due to problems in transportation.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=586901