Philippine Red Cross | Humanitarian Organization in the Philippines

The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) intensified its operations after a magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit several parts of Mindanao, Thursday morning, October 31, 2019. This is the third time in two weeks that a strong quake jolted Mindanao.

PRC’s army of volunteers and staff rushed to treat injured patients and are continuously assisting affected individuals, especially those in badly hit areas in North Cotabato and Davao del Sur.

“We are all in this together. Since the first earthquake struck Mindanao on October 16, our team has been working round-the-clock, providing first aid and other humanitarian services like distribution of hot meals to the affected residents, such as those in Balabag Barangay Hall in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato which serves as temporary evacuation center for 400 affected individuals,” PRC Chairman and CEO Richard Gordon said.

The PRC deployed 8 teams consisting of 2 from North Cotabato, 1 from Davao del Sur, 2 from South Cotabato, 1 from General Santos City and 2 from National Headquarters to conduct assessments and augment the chapters’ operations in different areas of Mindanao.

PRC North Cotabato Chapter sent teams to assess the situation in Kidapawan City and Barangay Ilomavis while volunteers and staff from Davao del Sur set up a temporary station and also deployed a team to conduct an assessment within the vicinity of their area.

PRC South Cotabato Chapter positioned its teams to assess the situation in the KCC Mall and Public Market due to a reported panic incident, a roving team was also mobilized by General Santos chapter within its area.

In order to save lives and to meet the demands of the affected residents especially the most vulnerable in the hard hit areas, PRC placed safeguards on the chapter’s blood bank refrigerated storage facility in Davao Del Sur Provincial Hospital particularly against power interruption.

The team of volunteers also set up tents and beds to provide additional support for the patients of the said hospital while a 15,000-liter water bladder was set up in San Miguel Elementary School in Digos City, a 10,000-liter water bladder was positioned in Balnate Elementary School in Magsaysay, Davao del Sur.

The PRC Ozamiz City Chapter warehouse is on alert status ready to deliver non-food items for the affected communities in North Cotabato and Davao del Sur.

South East Asia Red Cross and Red Crescent Leaders convened in Makati City for the 16th Annual South East Asia Red Cross and Red Crescent Leadership Meeting.

This year’s meeting is hosted and chaired by the Philippine Red Cross with the support from the South-East Asia International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Secretariat.

In his opening remarks, PRC Chairman and CEO Richard Gordon emphasized the importance of cooperation and coordination among National Societies in delivering humanitarian services especially in times of emergency situations.

Gordon also stressed the value of knowledge sharing and working together as a family in the midst of challenges that the ASEAN region faces such as typhoons and earthquakes.

“This is a partnership, if we don’t exercise the partnership that we all have in the ASEAN region, all the challenges in our region will not be met with the right mix of persistence, of vision, of making sure that we come out with our values, with our courage, commitment and continuity in all the things we try to do,” Gordon added.

Aside from catastrophes, Gordon said that the region is battling pandemics and epidemics,such as, dengue, measles and polio, which the Philippine Red Cross is currently addressing by providing auxiliary support to the Philippine government.

He also underlined the importance of unparalleled dedication of the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in helping and uplifting the lives of the most vulnerable during disasters and armed conflicts.

“Red Cross is a vocation, it’s a commitment, we are an international humanitarian organization,our fundamental principles make us a strong society because we are values-based and we earn the respect of everyone because there’s a Red Cross everywhere in the world”, Gordon said.

The leaders discussed the outcome of the previous meeting held on April 10 – 11, 2018 in Melaka, Malaysia, the S.E.A. Leadership side-event meeting of November 2018 in Manila and reviewed other priority agendas such as Reinforcing the Manila Call for Action commitments and regional targets, 1 Billion Coalition and the Asian Coalition for Resilience.

Participating in the two-day conference are leaders, Chairmen, Presidents, and Secretaries-General from IFRC, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Brunei Darussalam Red Crescent, Cambodian Red Cross, Indonesian Red Cross, Lao Red Cross,Malaysian Red Crescent, Myanmar Red Cross,Singapore Red Cross, Thai Red Cross, Timor-Leste Red Cross, Vietnam Red Cross, and PRC.

The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Chairman and CEO Richard Gordon ordered the immediate deployment and mobilization of its volunteers and staff to assist the people affected by the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that hits North Cotabato and other nearby areas in Mindanao on October 16, 2019, Wednesday.

“Ang PRC ay nananatiling alerto matapos yanigin ng malakas na lindol ang ilang bahagi ng Mindanao partikular ang lalawigan ng Cotabato. We are here to help. We will never leave you”, said Chairman Gordon.

PRC volunteers and staff are continuously assisting the families and individuals who were devastated by the strong quake. Welfare desks and first aid stations were set up to evacuation centers. A total of 23 patients were catered by PRC, 15 from South Cotabato, 5 from Davao del Sur, 1 from North Cotabato, and 2 from General Santos. Twelve (12) people were administered with first aid due to difficulty of breathing, dizziness, wounds, leg cramps and panic attack.

In Kidapawan, 151 were assisted and 6 (six) were transported to health facilities due to asthma, back pain and panic attack. Psychosocial support were given to 145 individuals in Davao del Sur. Hotmeals were also served to 514 people. Food items were distributed to 51 individuals, sleeping kits to 51 families and four (4) liters of bottled water were given to each of the 46 families in Davao del Sur.

Three (3) ambulances were deployed to North Cotabato, South Cotabato, and Davao Del Sur. Two (2) WASH hubs were activated in General Santos City and Davao City and hygiene promotion conducted to 35 individuals in Davao del Sur.

There were recorded 606 aftershocks (plotted, 298, felt, 24) as of October 19, 2019.

PRC reminds people to take earthquake drills seriously to avoid a large number of casualties during earthquakes.