Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana ordered local government officials and police to clear highways from people displaced because of the quakes in southern Philippines.

NDRRMC Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad said Lorenzana give his directive during the response cluster meeting Monday.

“The Response Cluster meeting, attended by representatives of various government agencies, was highlighted by reports on the ongoing response activities in the affected regions,” he said.

Amid reports about displaced people begging for help along the streets, Jalad said Lorenzana emphasized that people in the affected areas must go to their designated evacuation centers and barangay halls to receive assistance.

Jalad said the defense secretary ordered police and local officials to take the people along the highway to the evacuation centers.

“They should go to those places where the assistance is waiting for them,” said Lorenzana.

“I am directing all agencies of government to support the ongoing relief operations spearheaded by the DSWD ( Department of Social Welfare and Development) and OCD ( Office of Civil Defense),” he said.

“We encourage the NDRRMC and all its partners to closely collaborate to ensure the expeditious and effective delivery of response services that would support the various evacuation centers in the affected areas”, he added.

The response cluster meeting was held after the Officer-in-charge of the executive branch of government, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, designated Lorenzana to oversee the rescue and relief efforts in Mindanao.

Jalad said “the NDRRMC has been supervising the mobilization, transport, and delivery of relief items from manila and other regions to the affected LGUs since the onset of the earthquakes in Mindanao last October.”

As of Monday, the death toll because of the 6.6 magnitude quake on Oct. 20 and 6.5 on Oct. 31 rose to 22, with 424 injured and two missing.

The NDRRMC report shows that another fatality was recorded from the magnitude 6.5 quake in Region XII.

A total of 29,453 infrastructures were damaged in the affected regions, of which 8,309 were partially damaged and 21,144 were destroyed.

The number of affected families in 238 barangays in Regions XI and XII has reached to 37,706 or 188,533 individuals, of which 4,800 families or 24,000 persons were taking temporarily shelter within the 34 evacuation center. Robina Asido/DMS