Dispatch for november 18 , 2013 ( monday ) , 3 pia calabarzon prs , 19 weather watch,

―In fact, isa sa mga task force para sa siyudad na ginagawa natin ay ang mag-canvass --- ilang kuwarto rito, ilang kuwarto doon; saan ba may poso..., nang sa ganoon itong mga doktor, itong mga international relief ay may patutunguhan,‖ he added.

Secretary Roxas said that the government is thankful for all the assistance it is getting from various groups.

He emphasized, however, that it is important that the volunteers who are planning to come here in Tacloban are ―selfcontained‖ so as not to cause burden to the ongoing relief and recovery efforts by the government. ―Ang importante dapat self-contained po kayo. Dapat maging self-contained kayo dahil wala ho kayong maaasahan dito.

The normal, regular systems that are present in an urban setting are not available here. So, for all of the relief efforts, ‗yung mga taga-labas, dapat self-contained po,‖ he said. ―Nagpapasalamat kami sa tulong pero sana isipin ito bago dumating nang sa ganoon ay talagang from Day 1, pag-landing pa lang ninyo, nakatutulong na imbis na kailangan pa mag-setup, maghanap ng kung anong pension ang titirhan...,‖ he added. PND (co) TOP EU praises PH coordination efforts in Yolanda’s aftermath (TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte) The European Union (EU) praised the Philippine government‘s initial response to the devastation of super typhoon ―Yolanda,‖ saying Filipino authorities were able to coordinate all efforts coming from here and abroad.

European Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva, who arrived here Saturday, acknowledged the colossal scale of Yolanda‘s devastation in the Visayas region, but noted that the Philippine government was quick to coordinate efforts from different relief and recovery organizations. ―But what I see now is a very significant improvement. The government has set up their own coordination team in place,‖ Georgieva said in an interview at the Leyte Sports Complex.

She said aftermath of the super typhoon was so traumatic because it left an unexpected disturbance and gigantic impact on the region. ―And this is a lesson for all of us to recognize that in a world of more frequent, more devastating disasters, we have to continually strive to improve our capacity to mobilize our best people for the most dangerous location,‖ Georgieva said, adding that the EU had immediately set up a coordination team in the Philippines right after the devastation.

The EU‘s humanitarian team is also in the Philippines to develop quick response strategies when huge disasters strike, she said ―One of the reasons that we are here is because for every disaster of this magnitude, we need to learn on the spot what can be done well and what we can do better,‖ Georgieva said.

The EU has been here in the Philippines supporting the country in relief efforts every year with millions of dollars in contributions.

She also acknowledged that climate change had been affecting every region of the world and the Philippines was not an exception.

According to Georgieva, humanity has to have a mindset of preparedness and prevention and immediate and effective response. PND (as) TOP