PAF TOG-1 airlifts relief goods to remote Bokod sitios
Another set of relief goods reached the far flung areas in Bokod, Benguet recently.
The Philippine Air Force thru the Tactical Operations Group 1- based in Baguio City with the coordination of the Philippine Red Cross – Benguet Chapter and the Office of the Civil Defense – Cordillera airlifted another set of relief goods to areas in the municipality of Bokod which are very hard to reach.
Relief goods were airlifted from Loakan Airport and the Benguet State University Bokod Campus in Ambangeg to Barangay Nawal; Sitios Bakian and Naswak in Barangay Ekip and Sitio Bisal in Barangay Bobok-Bisal on May 23 and 25, 2020.
Barangay Nawal received 120 sacks of 25-kilogram rice, one cavan of sugar and two cavans of NFA rice while sitio Bobok in Bobok-Bisak received 40 cavans of rice and one cavan each of sugar and NFA rice.
In Barangay Ekip, Sitio Bakian received 20 sacks of 25- kilogram rice, one cavan NFA rice and one cavan sugar. Sitio Naswak received 30 sacks of half cavan rice and one cavan of sugar.
The Philippine Red Cross-Benguet Chapter also distributed more than 200 food packs to the different areas and several boxes of Ready to Use Food Supplement for children and adults.
The relief goods came from the Provincial Government of Benguet, the office of the Benguet Caretaker Cong. Eric Go Yap, Board Member Nestor Fongwan Jr., and the municipal government of Bokod and the PRC Benguet Chapter.
Bokod Mayor Thomas Wales Jr. said that the areas where the relief goods were delivered are considered as the most remote areas in the municipality as these areas could only be reached thru hiking across mountains for several hours.
“The sitios of Bakian and Naswak of Barangay Ekip, Bisal of Barangay Bobok, and Barangay Nawal are the most far flung areas in Bokod and are the most difficult to be reached due to lack of road and transportation means,” Wales said.
“We are grateful for the two helicopters of the Philippine Air Force which were sent in the municipality to help us bring the relief goods to the said areas,” the Mayor added.
The relief operations were joined by PRC- Benguet Chapter Administrator Oscar Paris, Board Member Nestor Fongwan Jr., and the Bokod Municipal Police Station led by PCapt. Ruben Tamiray with the PAF TOG-1 led by Lt. Col. Alan Macatingrao and Lt. Col. Jack Ray Mosomos.
Last week, Benguet Gov. Melchor Diclas personally delivered hundreds of food packs to the far flung areas of Ekip in Bokod as support of the province to the residents during the time of the COVID-19 crisis.
In the past weeks, the PAF with the provincial government of Benguet and the PRC-Benguet Chapter have been conducting airlifting of relief goods to the different remote areas in the province mostly those that could be reached thru hiking to ease the burden of bringing sacks of relief goods to their homes.
JDP/RMC- PIA-CAR
