Since day one of the relief operations for the destitute people of Leyte and Western Samar stricken by super typhoon Yolanda, government efforts to bring vital aid to the affected areas had steadily increased both in pace and volume.
Starting from scratch, the logistics hub based in
The 24 towns are Abuyog, Sta. Fe, Barugo, Javier, San Miguel, Tunga, Julieta, Capoocan, Carigara, Julita, Mac Arthur and Jaro.
Also included are Tolosa, Burauen, Tanauan, Tabon-Tabon, Babatngon,
These towns are currently receiving 60 sacks of rice daily – up from 30 sacks a day just four days ago - besides other relief goods such as water, canned goods, blankets and tents among others.
The marked improvement in both the pace of delivery and volume of relief goods in the aforementioned towns is mostly due to the influx of aid by air and sea from local and international donors.
But all of these would not have been accomplished without the men and women of the Armed Forces of the
Their task is simple – work as the delivery boys of relief goods.
At first, many of these soldiers believed that their task was just to provide security to relief trucks going in and out of the affected areas.
Among them is Army Pfc. Ronie Cendeño, who is a member of the 71st Infantry Brigade based in Bulacan prior to his deployment in
“We thought that we have just to escort relief vehicles to their destinations to counter any security threats,” he told the Philippines News Agency Wednesday while en route to Dulag, Leyte, the second of three towns they were to deliver relief goods for the day
Like any other member of his team, he soon found out that aside from running shotgun to relief caravans, they were also to provide the needed muscles – as loaders and unloaders of goods.
His colleague, Pvt. Buenaventura Raygon, said that once they parked their army truck to be loaded, their team would load it themselves.
Upon reaching their destination, the system is reversed – they now unload the trucks of its contents.
“It is exhausting work but we have no complaints. Part of our job as soldiers is to mobilize as a rescue and relief force. We are just hoping that civilians would help us on both ends to somewhat ease some the burden on our part,” Cendeño said.
But if they are the delivery boys, there is also the dispatcher who organizes the movement and schedules of several teams of delivery boys.
He is Lt. Col. Ray Anthony Tumaliuan, the unit commander of the task group for relief operations based at the City Hardware depot in Tacloban city which was designated as the hub of relief operations.
Tumaliuan is a member of the elite Scout Ranger Regiment with four gold crosses to his name.
“I am a scout ranger and an expert in airborne operations; yet here I am – a dispatcher,” he jokingly told the PNA.
But there is one thing that set him apart from most other military men: he is also an expert in crisis management having undertaken one year of training in
Under his command are 130 soldiers with 5 military and five civilian vehicles.
Of the 15 military trucks: 8 are assigned to ferry deliver relief supplies to the aforementioned towns; 4 are for Tacloban City deliveries; 2 are used to ferry goods from the pier to the distribution hub; and 1 is used to ferry goods from the airport.
Tumaliuan said an ordinary day for them starts at 5 a.m. when they begin to load the military trucks for the first deliveries of the day.
“Each truck had three specific towns to service. Once they accomplished their first deliveries, they immediately return here, wait for their turn to be reloaded and off they go until they have finished deliveries to the three towns that are assigned to,” he explained.
Throughout the day, he keeps track of the whereabouts of his trucks, the state of their road-worthiness and the well-being of his men.
He ensures that all of the 24 towns were provisioned daily – no small task with one who has limited logistics.
“My day usually ends around midnight when the last of the trucks arrive back. We usually wake up at four a.m. so there is not much rest, not even time to take a bath sometimes,” he said.
For Tumaliuan and his men, it is just all part of their sworn duty to the Filipino people.
The same can be said to all the other AFP units deployed elsewhere – in the piers, in the airports and in the warehouses.
From fearless warriors, they have become tireless deliverymen of aid to the destitute victims of typhoon Yolanda.
These are the gallant men of the AFP – the workhorses of the government’s relief efforts.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&sid=&nid=&rid=588863
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