Small Philippine Navy vessels bring aid, relief workers to far-flung Yolanda-devastated areas

From the Philippine News Agency (Dec 8): Small Philippine Navy vessels bring aid, relief workers to far-flung Yolanda-devastated areas

ABOARD BRP ABRAHAM CAMPO (PG-396) -- Relief volunteers and Philippine Navy personnel started loading this 82-footer patrol craft with sacks of rice, medicines and other relief goods at daybreak since Saturday, a day shy of a month ago when Yolanda struck central Philippines.

This vessel, commanded by Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Tirso Echavez and based at the Naval Forces Central (Navforcen) in Barangay Looc, Lapu-Lapu City, is among the smaller Philippine Navy sea assets used in bringing relief goods and relief personnel to far-flung areas and islands devastated by super typhoon Yolanda.

After loading and refuelling, this vessel set sail at past 9 a.m. Sunday for a four-hour journey to Pilar town in the Camotes Islands off northern Cebu, one of the areas badly-hit by the strongest typhoon to ever make landfall in recorded history.

”We plotted a longer and safer route,” commanding officer Echavez said.

”Among the navigation hazards after a typhoon, floods and storm surges are submerged logs,” he said.

Aboard, aside from the patrol craft’s 10-man crew, were 28 volunteers from the Rotary Club of Metro Cebu (RCMC) and the All-terrain Medical Relief Organization (Amro) in Cebu City.

The vessel was also loaded with some 150 sacks of rice, medicines and other relief goods.

Earlier, two smaller 78-footer Philippine Navy vessels left the Navforcen base for Pilar, Camotes at 2 a.m., carrying between them some 350 sacks of rice, 1,000 galvanized iron (GI) sheets and hundreds of carpentry tools such as hammers and hand saws and nails of different sizes.

Camotes Mayor Jesus “Jet” Fernandez Jr., who witnessed the distribution of some 500 sacks of rice, GI sheets and carpentry tools, said his town is rising from Yolanda’s devastation.

”We are giving affected families eight GI sheets and repacked nails of different sizes. This is enough to provide them shelter from the sun and rain,” he said.

Florita Hall, RCMC president, said her Rotary club went to Pilar after knowing the devastation in the island.

”We are thankful to the Philippine Navy for giving us the means to bring humanitarian aid from Cebu mainland to Pilar, Camotes,” she said.

Dr. Wyben Briones, RCMC past president and relief chair, said the Philippine Navy vessels were very useful in bringing in relief goods to typhoon-devastated areas.

”We used to hire motor bancas to bring in relief goods to as far as Carnaza and Guinatarcan islands in northern Cebu. But they can only carry so much,” he said.

This vessel pulled out from the Pilar port at 8 p.m. before the tides receded for a shorter three-hour journey with the Rotarian relief volunteers back to the Navforcen base in Lapu-Lapu City.

Commanding officer Echavez said the vessel, armed with two M-60 machine guns and two cal. 50 machine guns, earlier served as security for an Australian Naval vessel conducting relief operations in Bantayan Island.

”We go wherever we are deployed. Sometimes, sleep is optional,” Echavez said.

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