RP to send relief mission

The Philippines is prepared to send a humanitarian team to Indonesia to help victims of this week’s 8.7-magnitude earthquake, President Arroyo said yesterday as she called for a national day of prayer.

Most of the deaths from Monday’s tremors in the Indian Ocean were on Nias island, 120 kilometers south of the epicenter. Early yesterday, officials put the death toll at 1,000 but there were fears it could climb to as high as 2,000.

"On behalf of our people, I extend our sympathies to our brothers in Indonesia who have continued to suffer loss and pain on account of another earthquake," she said in a statement. "We are prepared to send a humanitarian mission to help the Indonesian people cope with and rise from this tragedy."

Another earthquake that struck the Indian Ocean on Dec. 26 triggered a tsunami that killed more than 273,000 people, including over 220,000 in Indonesia.

The Philippines sent Filipino humanitarian medical teams and psychosocial experts to the tsunami-affected areas in Indonesia and Sri Lanka last December.

This time, Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said a 16-member medical team would leave for Indonesia within the week to help prevent possible spread of diseases in the quake-ravaged areas.

"We are putting together a 16-man medical team to help Indonesia cope with the quake’s aftermath," Dayrit said.

He added that the team, to be composed of clinicians, sanitary engineers, nurses and psychologists, would also provide psychosocial counseling to quake victims.

"Our solidarity with Indonesia is strong in all humanitarian fields as well as for peace and security," Mrs. Arroyo said. — Aurea Calica, Mayen Jaymalin