4 hours ago
6
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Rainier Allan Ronda - The Philippine Star
June 13, 2026 | 12:00am
Volunteers arrange relief assistance from PCSO which included food packs, hygiene kits, evacuation and medicine kits intended to support affected families, evacuees and communities recovering from the impact of the earthquake.
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has completed a large-scale mobilization effort to round up a strategic fleet of patient transport vehicles (PTVs) or ambulance vans as well as relief supplies to Southern Mindanao following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck the region early this week.
The charity agency spearheaded the transport of the thousands of essential supplies, medical transport assets and emergency assistance from Villamor Air Base in Pasay City last June 11.
PCSO general manager Melquiades Robles said the agency’s swift response reflects its commitment to be on the ground for Filipinos from the first hours of a disaster through the grueling phases of relief and recovery.
“PCSO, through our Authorized Agent Corporations (AACs), was able to respond within the first 24 hours,” Robles said.
The logistical cleanup and distribution started as early as 4 a.m. on Thursday, with the PCSO coordinating closely with the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and the Philippine Air Force (PAF) to secure priority flights for the cargo.
An Airbus C-295 aircraft departed Villamor Air Base at 8:20 a.m. bound for General Santos City, carrying the initial batch of the agency’s signature “ChariTimba” food packs. A succeeding C-130 flight followed at around 11:30 a.m. to transport the remainder of the bulk relief goods.
The air-shipped relief assets are designated for immediate distribution to heavily impacted and displaced families in Barangays Calumpang, Apopong and Lagao in General Santos City, as well as affected communities in the municipality of Malapatan in Sarangani.
Simultaneously, the PCSO augmented local medical and emergency response capabilities by deploying land assets sourced from Cebu to various Mindanao provinces. To address urgent medical transport and mobility needs, the agency is deploying two PTVs each to Sarangani, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental and Davao del Norte, while one PTV will be sent to North Cotabato.
The initial responses on Monday morning were handled by local AACs to provide immediate cushion within the first 24 hours of the quake. Thursday’s massive shipments, meanwhile, focus on long-term sustainability for evacuees.
The charity agency detailed that the relief assistance is divided into specialized packages. The ChariTimba food packs are loaded with rice, ready-to-eat canned goods, instant noodles and other easy-to-prepare basic food items, while the medicine kits are filled with basic health care provisions for evacuees.
For daily living conditions in the evacuation centers, the PCSO prepared standard evacuation kits containing a mosquito net, towel, blanket, plastic mat, pillow, slippers and a hand-crank flashlight.
These are paired with hygiene kits filled with items such as a malong, deodorant, alcohol, shampoo, powder, soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, face mask, tissue, sanitary pads and a nail cutter.
