Central Visayas police officer cited for helping Damayan

MANILA, Philippines - A police officer and members of the Regional Public Safety Battalion in Central Visayas were cited yesterday for their invaluable assistance to The STAR’s Operation Damayan project for earthquake victims in Loon, Bohol.

Operation Damayan is the socio-civic arm of The STAR.

STAR president and chief executive officer Miguel Belmonte and the Damayan team visited the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Camp Crame yesterday to personally thank PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima for the PNP’s assistance and to commend Inspector Derick Dura and his company.

Speaking to reporters, Belmonte said Dura’s team helped Operation Damayan in securing and transporting relief goods from the Loon port to the PNP camp for safekeeping and then to the relief distribution site the next day.

“Inspector Dura helped us tremendously,” he said. “I felt that it’s just right for me to commend the performance and efforts of Inspector Dura and his people.”

Belmonte said Operation Damayan has been extending help during calamities for the past 20 years.

“And after the earthquake in Bohol and Cebu, we decided to go to Loon in Bohol which was difficult to reach, in fact for sometime, it was not even accessible,” he said.

“When we went there 10 days after the earthquake, we had a lot of problems in terms of logistics. We had to send teams to survey the area and we were very lucky when our advance team went over there we were met by Dura,” he said, adding, “We did not even know him at that time.” 

Belmonte said Dura’s team provided a truck, manpower and assisted Operation Damayan in transporting all the goods to the relief distribution site.

“We felt very secure with their presence,” Belmonte, who  joined the distribution with his wife Milette, noted.

“It was my personal observation that they’re very courteous and professional, even in dealing with the residents. What they did was beyond the call of duty, and they didn’t ask for anything from us.”

Belmonte said in the past, Operation Damayan coordinated with the local government and police officials in areas where the outreach programs were held, but only in Bohol did a group of policemen help them from the start up to the end of the project.

“We usually receive some assistance from LGUs for, as General Purisima said, coordination. But as far as I can recall, that was the first time the PNP helped us that much,” he said.

Belmonte was amazed at how professionally Dura dealt with the team of Damayan. “He is a very young officer, even younger than my eldest child. He is someone the PNP should be proud of,” he said.

Dura said Operation Damayan gave the biggest help to 3,000 families in 22 barangays in Loon in the form of blankets, pack of goods, toiletries and other basic necessities.

“Each pack of relief goods would allow recipient families to start their lives in Loon in Bohol. In fact, the families surely used the relief goods during Typhoon Yolanda,” he said.

Purisima said during trying times, good and bad stories come out.

“Here we have one good and brave policeman. And the beauty of this is none other than the chief executive officer and publisher of one of the country’s most prestigious newspapers gave a testimonial regarding the unselfish deeds of this police officer,” he said.