投稿者: Manila Shimbun

Duterte asks Navy to bring home safely Filipinos in Middle East

/ Manila Shimbun

President Rodrigo Duterte led on Tuesday the send-off ceremony of two Navy vessels to fetch the Filipinos in the Middle East amid the escalating tensions between the United States and Iran.

The Naval Task Group (NTG) 82 comprising around 400 sailors and marines headed by its commander, Captain Edward Ike De Sagon, boarded BRP Davao del Sur and BRP Ramon Alcaraz, which will sail to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 25 days with lay over in Sri Lanka for refueling and replishment.

They left Port Area around 5 pm, a Navy spokesperson said.

“This is a sacred mission and it is really to safeguard the lives of the Filipino people. I tasked you this duty with a prayer and with a hope that you will carry out your mission successfully and that everybody will be safe,” Duterte said.

“Do not worry, I will be with you and if need I will also go there,” he said.

“I trust that you will exert all efforts and work hand in hand with the Secretary of the Department of National Defense to encourage affected Filipinos in the Middle East to return to the Philippines or be evacuated to safer grounds,” he added.

Aside from the two Navy ships, a Philippine Coast Guard ship has also been on a standby in Malta.

There are more than two million Filipinos in the Middle East and about 1,600 in Iraq where the Philippine government declared Alert Level 4, which entails mandatory evacuation. Celerina Monte-Robina Asido/DMS

Duterte to evacuees: Nobody is allowed to go back until it’s safe

/ Manila Shimbun

BATANGAS CITY  – President Rodrigo Duterte advised on Tuesday the families displaced by the Taal Volcano eruption not to return to their homes yet.

Duterte visited some 3,500 evacuees from Lemery, Taal, Agoncillo, and San Nicolas, some of the municipalities in Batangas greatly affected by the volcano eruption, temporarily being served at Batangas Sports Complex gym.

“Nobody is allowed to go back until such time that you are safe,” he said in a speech.

He said that the national government has given P130 million to the local government of Batangas to assist the victims of the eruption.

He vowed that the government would help the displaced families to “immediately” go back to normal lives.

“All the government agencies are here…we are workers of government and we serve the people,” he said.

Inside the gym, there were about 50 modular tents where some of the evacuees are staying.
Those who have been occupying the yellow green tents are the first sets of evacuees.

Prior to facing the displaced families, Duterte presided over a situation briefing with Cabinet and local government officials.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana proposed that the island where the volcano is located be declared as “no man’s land.”

In an earlier interview, Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas said about 30,000 individuals have evacuated and the number could still increase. About 80 percent of them are staying with their relatives, he added. Celerina Monte/DMS