5 Pinoys lose homes in Australian bushfires

MANILA, Philippines — Some 300 Filipinos have been evacuated while five lost their homes as bushfires worsened in Australia, an official of the Philippine embassy in Canberra said yesterday.

In an interview over dzMM, Consul General Aian Caringal said the evacuations were precautionary measures after two houses owned by Filipinos were damaged by bushfire.

He said the 300 Filipinos are being attended to by the local government and have been given temporary housing and emergency relief.

The Filipinos, residing in East Gippsland, Victoria, were evacuated to the nearby city of Bairnsdale.

Caringal said there are around 300,000 Filipinos in Australia, 75,000 of them workers and students. The rest are permanent migrants.

“During bushfire season, the local government has contingencies in place,” he said. “We just need to coordinate with them. It’s more in coordination with local authorities and Filipino communities.”

Record-breaking temperatures and months of severe drought have fuelled a series of massive bushfires across Australia.

The embassy, in coordination with the Philippine consulates in Sydney and Philippine honorary consulates in Melbourne and Adelaide, is closely monitoring the bushfire emergencies in parts of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

It said everyone is advised to follow the instructions of their local authorities and to take all necessary precautions and recommended actions.

Malacañang is moving to ensure the safety of Filipinos in Australia who are residing in areas affected by bushfires. ?“Our government is implementing measures to ensure that our countrymen are safe from the conflagration,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said at a press briefing yesterday. ?More than five million hectares of land have been affected by the bushfires, according to earlier reports. 

Prayers

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday urged Filipinos to pray for God to put out the bushfires. 

CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Laity (ECL) chairman Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said the blaze, if not put under control, could indicate that man is helpless against nature’s wrath.

It should also serve as an eye-opener on the effects of climate change.

Bataan Bishop Ruperto Santos said the local diocese has offered prayers in solidarity with the Australians. 

“In solidarity of the Diocese of Balanga to Australia, we have this prayer being recited in the diocese. The Diocese of Balanga did pastoral visitation in 2016 to the Bataeños residing in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney,” he said. – With Alexis Romero, Evelyn Macairan ??