Philippines ready to send teams to Thailand, Myanmar

MANILA, Philippines — Three emergency medical teams from the Philippines are ready to be sent to Myanmar and Thailand to help earthquake victims and their families, the Department of Health (DOH) said over the weekend.

“The Philippine Emergency Medical Assistance Teams (PEMATs) were instructed to be on standby for deployment once international coordination protocols with the affected countries are complete and a request is received,” Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said in a statement.

The PEMAT members are from Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital, Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium and Eastern Visayas Medical Center.

According to Herbosa, PEMATs underwent thorough assessment on their capabilities in clinical management, logistics, water, sanitation and hygiene.

They were also awarded the World Health Organization Emergency Medical Team (EMT) badge which is proof that they are certified and recognized for international humanitarian deployment.

“All three PEMATs are classified as Type 1 Fixed EMTs, which means they can provide daylight hours care for acute trauma and non-trauma presentations and referrals,” said Herbosa.

The PEMATs from DOH can also do ongoing health investigation or care and community-based primary care in an outpatient fixed facility.

Meanwhile, the Philippine embassy in Myanmar expressed its readiness yesterday to help relocate or bring home any Filipinos affected Friday’s earthquake.

“The embassy is gathering current and credible information on the status of all affected Filipinos in Myanmar in order to determine resources necessary to assist them, including the deployment of a team on the ground to conduct welfare checks on them,” it announced.

“Those who require relocation or repatriation will also be assessed and assisted,” the Philippine embassy said in a post on its official Facebook page.

For emergencies, the embassy can be reached through the Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) hotline (+95 998 521 0991) or the official Philippine embassy in Myanmar Facebook Messenger.

The Philippine embassy is yet to release information if any Filipinos were hurt or killed in the earthquake but has advised Filipinos in Myanmar to remain calm and monitor updates from credible and verifiable sources of information. — Michael Punongbayan