Army soldiers distribute relief goods in flooded communities of Manila

 

FORT BONIFACIO, Taguig City- Soldiers from the Civil-Military Operations Group (CMOG) assisted in the distribution of relief goods in the flood-affected areas of Manila today.

Col. Cirilito Sobejana, the Commander of CMOG, said that he deployed 30 soldiers to repack the goods at the Sagip Kapamilya warehouse since yesterday.

He said that 1,500 packs of relief goods consisting of clothing, bottled water and foodstuffs were included in the items which were distributed in Sta Mesa, Manila starting at 10:00am today.

The Army's Dragon Boat Team and the world champion Pinoy Dragon Warriors who won 5 golds in Tampa, Florida also came to help in the relief operations.

Other volunteers also participated including Bb Pilipinas beauties like Venus Raj, Shamcey Supsup, among others.

Flooded with gratitude

The people in the communities of Bgy 595 of Sta Mesa were surprised by the relief operations spearheaded by the soldiers.

Village chair Marilou Canino said that the goods were so bountiful that she was able to share these to neighboring villages of Bgy 594 and 596 which were also submerged in 10-foot deep floodwaters.

She said that her constituents were very grateful for the help provided by the Army and its partners.

"In behalf of the people of this village, I would like to thank you for easing our suffering due to the floods. We will never forget this moment that soldiers came here to help us," said Canino, a native of Samar.

The crowd of about 1,000 people who came to collect the goods were all smiles when the relief distribution was culminated at around 12:30pm.

Bayanihan missions

Army chief  Lt General Emmanuel Bautista has directed all subordinate units under his command to support the local government in its disaster response operations.

He said that these non-combat missions are part of the Army's mandate of serving the people.

"We will always be your partners in Bayanihan as a way of solving our problems. We can only move forward as a nation if we will help each other," he said.

Several units of the Philippine Army are now actively involved in disaster relief efforts carried out by the government in flood-affected areas.

The DRO teams of the Army like the Search and Rescue Unit (SARU) and their counterparts in the Infantry Divisions are also employed to assist the communities which are still submerged in flood waters.