US diverts some Sulu Balikatan troops to Leyte for landslide victims
text HADER GLANG

US personnel for the joint Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) military exercise will be diverted from Jolo, Sulu to Southern Leyte to help with the disaster relief, as search effort continues in a landslide buried village in Saint Bernard town.

Lt. Col. Mark Zimmer, public affairs officer of the Joint Special Operation Task Force-Philippines, said they are still awaiting the assessment from the two US multi-amphibious ships that were sent earlier to Leyte before deploying some personnel.

“We really don’t know how many personnel from Sulu that will be sent to Leyte. It depends on the assessment being done by the people there now from the ships. We still don’t know yet. We should know within 24 to 48 hours,” Zimmer told Zamboanga Southwall.

At present, Zimmer said they are in the assessment stage and still looking at the situation in Southern Leyte, where their teams on the ground are working closely with Philippine counterparts to determine how US assets can best be used in the affected area.

Zimmer explained that the diversion of some US personnel from Sulu to Leyte is in response to the Philippine government’s request to provide assistance and support relief operations following the landslides in the Visayas region.

About 250 US personnel are in Sulu to conduct with Filipino counterparts multiple medical, dental, veterinary, engineering civic action projects and humanitarian activities. “We will push through with our medcaps on Wednesday (Feb. 22) as scheduled despite the turn of events.”

Rescue operations in Southern Leyte have been focused on an elementary school building where at least 206 children and 40 teachers believed to have been buried. The landslide also hit a village hall, where a meeting was being held.

Disaster officials said 20 survivors and 72 dead bodies had been recovered from the rubble, with 913 more believed to be missing. Over 1,000 are housed in evacuation centers. (ZS)