Yangon, Myanmar — With the still ongoing search, rescue, and retrieval operations for the survivors and victims of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that hit Myanmar more than a week ago, the Philippines is extending efforts and sending new teams to assist with the operations.
In a statement during the weekends, the Philippine Embassy in Myanmar said that the Philippines sent a team from the National Bureau of Investigation Disaster Victim Identification Division in Myanmar that will work on finding and identifying the four Filipinos that remain unaccounted for as of the present.
“A team from the National Bureau of Investigation’s Disaster Victim Identification Division (NBI-DVID) is expected to arrive in Mandalay tomorrow to secure tissue samples collected from unidentified remains recovered from the Sky Villa site,” the statement reads.
This condominium site is among the buildings that collapsed due to the powerful quake, and was the residence of the four missing Filipinos.
The NBI-DVID in Manila, meanwhile, will also collect samples from the families of the missing Filipinos in order to test and match identities that may lead faster to the state of said Filipinos.
Earlier, the Department of Foreign Affairs said that most of the remains recovered from the rubble days after the tragedy were already in an advanced decomposition stage, while some were already cremated due to lack of facilities and cold storage units. Hence, making the identification process more difficult.
Despite this, they noted that the embassy was able to request local rescuers to get samples from the recently retrieved remains for the identification process.
Along the NBI team is the Philippine Inter-Agency Humanitarian Contingent team that were sent last week to help and assist with the still ongoing rescue operations in Myanmar, along with the hopes for the four Filipinos.
PH EMBASSY EXTENDS MORE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS FOR FILIPINO VICTIMS
While the search is still ongoing, the Philippine Embassy in Myanmar assured Filipinos affected by the tragedy of the various assistance programs from the Philippine government.
The embassy is accepting repatriation requests from Filipinos that may want to return to the Philippines after the calamity.
Commercial flights are full, but the Philippine government is coordinating the use of a C-130 aircraft for those who request to be repatriated on April 12.
Interested individuals are encouraged to coordinate with the embassy as early as now to process the necessary repatriation procedures.
“For commercial flights, standard procedures will apply. For C130 repatriation, the Embassy will collect names and facilitate compliance with relevant immigration requirements. Interested individuals may express their intent starting today, and arrangements will be made while seats remain available,” the embassy noted.
The Embassy clarified that repatriated Filipinos are still allowed to return to Myanmar for work someday as long as they possess the necessary documentation.
Aside from the repatriation program, the Embassy was also offering Transportation assistance for relocation and Temporary Accommodations for Filipinos who lost homes from the calamity.
“The Philippine Embassy provided transportation and temporary accommodation to the first batch of Filipinos who availed of the Embassy’s voluntary relocation program for distressed Overseas Filipino Workers affected by the 7.7 earthquake.” the embassy said.
“The Embassy will once again mount another batch of relocation of Filipinos on the morning of Sunday, 06 April 2025,” it added.
Transportation services going to Yangon are available, while the temporary accommodation will last for two weeks, under the Embassy’s custody.
Moreover, financial assistance is also available for qualified OFWs, while trauma counseling services are free to those who want to avail the program.
The embassy assures that it will continue efforts to provide support and assistance to Filipinos affected by the tragedy, as well as for the four Filipinos that remain unaccounted for.
“The Embassy stands firm in its unwavering commitment to the safety and wellbeing of our kababayan. We continue to exert all possible efforts to account for the four (4) missing Filipinos and to provide support and necessary assistance to all affected members of the Filipino community during this challenging time,” the embassy said.