Govt ready to extend help to victims of Cebu sea
mishap, says Malacanang
The government said it is ready to extend
assistance to the victims of a sea mishap in Talisay City, Cebu, in addition to
the help being extended by the shipping companies.
“Handa naman tayong magbigay ng kahit anong
assistance na kailangan nila. As of the current situation, the management of
2Go Shipping Lines is providing relief assistance to them,” Deputy Presidential
spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a radio interview over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan
on Saturday.
As of the moment, Valte said the shipping company
has extended temporary shelters, hot meals, and medical assistance to the
survivors. Other survivors are also being given accommodation while the
situation is being sorted out, she added.
The Philippine Coast Guard reported that as of
10 a.m. Saturday the casualty figure was pegged at 26 while there were 629
survivors.
Different concerned government agencies and
search and rescue assets are working together as a response to the accident,
Valte said.
Among the agencies involved in the search and
rescue efforts include the Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Fire Protection,
the AFP Search and Rescue Group, and the LGU disaster volunteers, she said.
The Department of Health (DOH) and the All
Terrain Medical and Relief Organization are also cooperating to lend their
expertise, she added.
After the search and rescue as well as search
and retrieval, the thrust will shift to determining the one accountable for the
sea tragedy, Valte said.
“Magsi-shift na yan kasi since it is a maritime
accident, it has to be determined kung sino ang at fault,” she said.
The accident happened Friday evening in Lawis
Ledge in Talisay City, Cebu when MV Sulpicio Express 7 and the MV St. Thomas
Aquinas 1 got into a collision. PND (as)
Palace: OFWs affected by Egypt conflict could
avail of government assistance
Malacanang said the government is ready to
extend assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who will opt to return to
the Philippines because of the ongoing tensions in Egypt.
In a radio interview over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan on
Saturday, Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the Overseas
Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) has not received any requests for
voluntary repatriation although there are reports of some Filipinos being
injured in the conflict.
“But in case some of them decide to come home,
may mga ready assistance ang DOLE natin for them. Merong mga small loan
facilities that they can avail of; likewise, there is assistance that is
given,” Valte said. “Tutulungan natin silang makapag-startup ng kanilang maliit
na negosyo.”
The DOLE is giving assistance package to
returning OFWs for the time being while they prepare to apply for another work
abroad, she said.
Violence in Egypt has been continuing in the
fourth day of the military government’s crackdown against protesters allied
with the country’s former leader.
A mosque in Cairo became a makeshift morgue and
field hospital for the Muslim Brotherhood, a pro-Mohamed Morsy group during
clashes Friday. The protesters promised a “day of anger” over the military’s
ouster of President Mohamed Morsy.
State-run media estimated the death toll in the
area from 17 to 54.
US President Barack Obama condemned the
crackdown on protesters on Thursday and canceled scheduled joint exercises by
the US and Egyptian military. PND (as)
