Filtered By: Topstories
News

RP medical team leaving for quake-hit Haiti on Monday


(Updated 1:10 p.m. January 17) A 21-member medical team has been formed and might leave for Haiti on Monday to help in rescue and relief operations in the wake of the devastating earthquake that hit the Caribbean country last January 12. Desperation has mounted throughout the capital Port-au-Prince, as thousands could still be trapped in the rubble, their chances of survival ebbing away. Damage to infrastructure has made the delivery of aid a logistical nightmare. There were also reports of looting. The Filipino team will be entering a situation that could be much worse than what a similar team faced in Aceh in 2004, when an earthquake and tsunami killed more than 100,000. Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral said on Saturday the team includes three trauma surgeons, two orthopedic surgeons, an internist, a pediatrician, five nurses, three epidemiologists and two sanitary engineers. Heading the team is Emmanuel Bueno, head of the emergency room of the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City. 'As long as needed' Cabral said she expected the team to be in Haiti for at least two weeks, but the doctors may extend their stay. "Our estimate is two to three weeks, but we can't be certain about it. It will depend on how long they are needed there," she said in Filipino. In an earlier interview on dzRH radio, Cabral said the team would take a commercial flight since Haiti will be too far for a government C-130 cargo plane. “Maybe by Monday they can leave," she told government-run dzRB radio. Cabral said they were still coordinating with the Department of Foreign Affairs for the visas of the medical team members. She also said she was speaking with the United Nations about where the 21-member Philippine medical team will be assigned. More Filipino peacekeepers For his part, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said a new peacekeeping contingent would likely go to Haiti with the medical team. “Buo na ang team na 'yan. Ang matatandaan, tayo ay laging nagpapadala ng medical team sa karatig bansa pag may sakuna. Baka next week 'yan papadala natin sa Haiti (The team is complete and ready to go. We've always sent medical teams to other countries when disasters strike. This team might go to Haiti next week)," Remonde told dzRH radio. Filipinos belonging to a United Nations peacekeeping force have been helping in rescue and relief operations in Haiti. “The medical contingent and the new peacekeeping force might go to Haiti together," Remonde said in Filipino. In a separate interview on Sunday, military information office chief Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. said the new peacekeeping force is composed of 155 members that include engineers, rescuers, and medical personnel. He added that once the members finalize their pertinent documents like passports and visas, and other medical requirements , they are ready to fly to Haiti. Meanwhile, Remonde said Philippine consular officials would continue to coordinate in accounting for Filipinos in Haiti. “Consular officials are tasked by the President and Foreign Affairs department to look after the welfare of our fellow Filipinos, particularly those who are undocumented," he said. — TJD/NPA/LBG, GMANews.TV
LOADING CONTENT