No Filipinos among recorded fatalities in Sendai

MANILA, Philippines - The consular team from the Philippine embassy in Japan said yesterday that so far, there are no Filipinos among the recorded fatalities in Sendai.

The team was dispatched on Sunday by the embassy to Sendai City, hardest hit by the earthquake and tsunami, and arrived there shortly before midnight (local time). The team touched base with 10 Filipino students from Tohoku University, all of who are safe.

The Philippine embassy in Tokyo reported yesterday to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) that the team was going around Sendai, visiting two evacuation centers —the Tachimachi Elementary School and the Kimachidori Elementary School —where Filipinos were in safe condition. 

The message board of the evacuation centers contained the embassy’s contact details.

Filipino community members, the embassy said, are reaching out to those who were affected by the 8.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan on Friday.

“Filipinos in Tokyo, Osaka and Western Japan are deemed relatively safe. In fact some of them have pooled their efforts and resources in helping those who were adversely affected by the quake,” said Ambassador Manuel Lopez.

The team also reported that the 30 seafarers earlier brought to Fukushima by their company after the quake are now on their way to Narita Airport.

Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) chief Carmelita Dimzon said the repatriation of the stranded Filipino seafarers is already being arranged by the manning agencies.

Earlier, Lopez was able to contact Filipino community leaders in Hokkaido, who reported that Filipinos in the eastern part, Kushido, Nemuro, Abashiri and Hakodate, are safe.

He reiterated that the embassy is on 24-hour operation to immediately respond to calls of Filipino nationals who are in emergency situations.

Earlier, the embassy issued an advisory to the Filipino community to take necessary precautions and report to the embassy or the Philippine consulate nearest them any incident of injuries or fatalities among Filipinos.

The advisory also reiterated the advice of Japanese authorities for them to proceed to city halls or fire stations in cases of emergency so they can receive immediate instructions and care.

In Manila, upon the direction of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA) has activated a Crisis Management Center for families who have relatives in Japan.

Undersecretary Esteban Conejos is leading the efforts in support of the work of the embassy in Tokyo and the five consulates in Japan.

Philippine embassy officers and staff in Tokyo, as well as those in the consulate general in Osaka headed by Consul General Maria Lourdes Ramiro-Lopez and the honorary consulates in Sapporo, Morioka, Nagoya and Naha, are reaching out to Filipino community leaders and members, as well as quickly responding to requests for assistance or information.

In Osaka, the consulate general there reported that as of yesterday, there are no reports of any casualties among the Filipino nationals in the 28 prefectures under its jurisdiction.

The embassy and the consulates are maintaining close contact with city and prefectural governments, and have full personnel complements ready to mobilize and provide assistance.

Filipinos may contact the following embassy numbers in case of emergency: (03)5562-1573, (03)5562-1574, (03)5562-1570, (03)5562-1590 emergency@ philembassy.net

The consulates’ hotlines: (06) 6910-7881 for the Philippine Consulate General in Osaka, (011) 614-8090 for the Honorary Consulate in Sapporo, and (019) 629-9139 for the Honorary Consulate in Morioka.

The hotline numbers at the DFA-OUMWA’s Crisis Management Center are 834-4646 and 834-4580. Requests for information may also be sent through e-mail address [email protected]

Lending a helping hand

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has assembled and placed a composite military medical team on standby for possible deployment to Japan.

AFP chief Lt. Gen. Eduardo Oban, said that a 42-man medical team is just awaiting orders from higher authorities to go and help attend to the medical needs of quake and tsunami victims there.

A non-government organization (NGO) from Cebu has also signified their intention, through the AFP, to join the medical mission of the Department of Health (DOH), which is also ready to send its own teams.

“As of now we’re on standby, waiting for signals from DFA or from our Japanese counterparts,” Oban said.

The Philippine Red Cross, chaired by former Senator Richard Gordon, also signified its intention to join the relief missions of the International Federation of the Red Cross.

On the other hand, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) together with its Red Crescent partners have added Chinese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish languages on its website pages in order to assist people anxious for news about loved ones in the disaster area.

ICRC has previously set up Japanese and English website pages to help link survivors — Japanese or otherwise — with their relatives abroad.

“An initial survey carried out in conjunction with the Japanese Red Cross Society revealed that large numbers of foreigners – in particular Brazilians, Chileans and Peruvians – were living in the areas affected by the disaster. Hence our decision to make the website available in various languages, including Portuguese and Spanish,” explained Olivier Dubois, deputy head of the ICRC’s Central Tracing Agency and Protection Division.

Survivors in Japan and abroad can register on the website (www.familylinks.icrc.org) to inform their family and friends that they are safe and provide their current contact details, while those looking for people can check the list for information.

They can also register the names of missing family and friends, encouraging them to get in touch. – With Mayen Jaymalin, Jaime Laude, Mike Frialde, Sheila Crisostomo, Cet Dematera, Raymund Catindig, Jose Rodel Clapano