HEROES. AFP Chief Gen. Andres Centino welcomes troops of the 82-member Philippine Inter-Agency Humanitarian Contingent (PIAHC) who arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on Tuesday night (Feb. 28, 2023). The team was deployed to Trkiye on Feb. 8 to conduct humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations in the aftermath of the Feb. 6 magnitude 7.8 quake that rocked the country. (Photo courtesy of AFP) MANILA - Ranking officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and other government agencies welcomed the 82 members of the Philippine Inter-Agency Humanitarian Contingent (PIAHC) who safely returned home Tuesday night after their mission to earthquake-ravaged Trkiye. National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council chair and Department of National Defense officer in charge Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr., Office of Civil Defense (OCD) administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Andres Centino, and Turkish Ambassa
(Photo courtesy of Jose Angelo Mangaoang/Office of Civil Defense) MANILA - The Philippine Inter-Agency Humanitarian Contingent (PIAHC) in Trkiye gave quick orientations to Turkish local volunteers on international standards of search and rescue. This came after Filipino rescuers saw some local volunteers using backhoes in their search. "After observing that locals use backhoes indiscriminately without due regard for safety procedures in locating victims, the PIAHC gave quick orientations on internationally accepted principles of search and rescue," the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said in an update Sunday. The Philippine team is currently deployed in Adiyaman which is four hours away by bus from the city of Adana, Southern Trkiye. It also added that these local volunteers, most of whom have no training and equipment, were given a quick look and briefing on the PIAHC's equipment. PIAHC is an 82-member team that is composed of the following personnel, 30 from the Departmen