27 December 2011 - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said today that a four-member delegation from the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) is now in Cagayan de Oro to assess the devastation wreaked by tropical storm Sendong (Washi), and also to look into how member-states could extend assistance to the affected communities.
The delegation, headed by Director Fuad Ali Al-Maznaee of the OIC Humanitarian Affairs Department, arrived in Cagayan de Oro on December 26 for a four-day visit to the devastated areas.
The delegation, which included Ibrahim Abdulla al-Khuzayem, Executive Director of the OIC Islamic Solidarity Fund, was received by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael E. Seguis, who is also Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary, and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Executive Director Benito Ramos.
Also in the OIC delegation are Saif Taher, Director for Muslim Communities and Minorities and Abdoulaye Kebe of the Humanitarian Affairs Department.
"The Philippines appreciates this kind gesture from our brothers in the OIC," Undersecretary Seguis said.
"This is the first time the OIC has dispatched a needs-assessment mission to the Philippines to look into how member-states can help communities in Mindanao that were affected by a disaster of this magnitude," he added.
The mission was dispatched by no less than OIC Secretary General Ekmelledin Ihsanoglu who earlier called on the OIC's 57 member-states to extend all vital assistance to the affected people in the Philippines "to help save lives and rebuild the livelihood after these deadly and devastating floods."
Upon arrival, the OIC officials were briefed by the NDRRMC and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on the ongoing relief efforts and the long-term requirements of the affected communities.
Undersecretary Seguis also visited the DFA Regional Consular Office in Cagayan de Oro to look into the situation of DFA employees there. He was told that at least two employees lost their belongings as a result of the deadly flashfloods that hit the city last week.
More than 1,000 people perished and hundreds more unaccounted for in Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and other areas in Northern Mindanao as a result of devastating flashfloods triggered by Sendong last week. Hundreds of families also lost their homes and are now crowding evacuation centers in the affected areas. END (photos by DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Administration Special Assistant Elmer G. Cato)
