PHL officials checking for Pinoy victims in latest New Zealand quake

Philippine officials are coordinating with local authorities in New Zealand to determine if Filipinos are among the casualties in the latest earthquake to hit the Christchurch area there. Consul General to New Zealand Marcos Punsalang said he has asked honorary consul Peter Wait to report any Filipino casualty to the consulate general as soon as possible. At least two quakes measuring magnitude 5.5 and 6.0 were recorded Monday in the Christchurch area, he noted. "Mino-monitor natin ang situation, inatasan natin ang honorary consul na balitaan kami kung may Pilipinong nasaktan o namatay," Punsalang said in an interview on dzBB radio. So far, the Philippine Embassy has set up an emergency hotline (006422074651) to take calls because the power and phone lines in Christchurch are down. "Yung abiso sa amin as much as possible i-minimize ang tawag sa Christchurch kasi overload ang circuits," he said. Initial reports said at least 10 people had been injured. However, Punsalang said it was not clear if any of the victims were Filipinos. Punsalang said there are 3,000 to 4,000 Filipinos in the Christchurch area. While a powerful quake hit the area only last February, many Filipinos there chose to stay because of the "good environment" there. "May iba nag-relocate, nagtrabaho sa ibang lugar. May kaunti umuwi sa Pilipinas. (Pero marami nanatili dahil) maganda ang environment ang Christchurch during normal times," he said. Meanwhile, Punsalang said the Philippine Embassy can be reached through hotline numbers: (+644) 4729848; 4729921; 4725170 (fax); and email at embassy@wellington-pe.co.nz. - VVP, GMA News