By Priam Nepomuceno

HELP IS ON THE WAY. The Office of Civil Defense, with the assistance of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, on Friday (Sept. 4, 2026) deploys 10 trucks filled with relief goods to aid communities in Bulacan severely affected by tropical storms Luis, Maymay, and Neneng and the monsoon rains. This effort is part of the government’s ongoing response operations for communities heavily hit by the recent weather disturbances. (Photo courtesy of the OCD)

MANILA – The Office of Civil Defense (OCD), with the assistance of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), on Friday deployed 10 trucks filled with relief goods to aid communities in Bulacan severely affected by tropical cyclones Luis, Maymay, and Neneng and the enhanced southwest monsoon or “habagat.”

OCD Administrator, Undersecretary Harold Cabreros, led the send-off ceremony for the relief convoy, dubbed the “Hatid Tulong sa Sambayanan,” which took place at the OCD New Administration Building in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Cabreros said this effort is part of the government’s ongoing response operations for communities severely hit by recent weather disturbances.

“Ngayong araw, ihahatid natin ang mga relief items sa mga apektadong munisipalidad sa Bulacan, partikular sa Pulilan, Calumpit, Hagonoy, Paombong, at Bulakan (Today, we will deliver these relief items to the affected municipalities of Bulacan, particularly in Pulilan, Calumpit, Hagonoy, Paombong, and Bulacan),” he said.

Each affected municipality will receive 160 bags of rice, 450 bottles of drinking water, and 112 hygiene kits.

Aside from being the mandate of the OCD, Cabreros said, missions like these are conducted under the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Defense Secretary and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council chair Gilberto Teodoro Jr.

He thanked the AFP for allocating the transportation assets needed to carry the relief items, along with personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard who helped haul and prepare the relief supplies from its warehouses in Camp Aguinaldo.

“Malaki po ang gampanin ng ating mga uniformed services sa mabilis at maayos na paghahatid ng tulong sa ating mga kababayan, gayundin sa pagsasagawa ng iba pang aspeto ng response operations (Our uniformed services are playing a major role in the quick and orderly provision of assistance to our countrymen, also in helping in the other aspects of response operations),” Cabreros said.

Other affected provinces like Bataan, Nueva Ecija, and Pampanga will also receive help from relief caravans in the coming days. (PNA)