MMDA sends 10-man rescue team to Cavite

MANILA, Philippines - The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Monday afternoon deployed a 10-man rescue team to Rosario, Cavite to help in the ongoing relief operations for flood-hit areas.

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said the municipal government led by Mayor Nonong Ricafrente sought the MMDA’s help to deliver food and other relief items to residents of Barangay Ligtong, who were forced to climb to the rooftops of their submerged houses.

"People won’t leave their homes so we’re going there to give them food and try to convince them to evacuate," Tolentino said.

Ligtong is one of the villages in Rosario that was hardest hit by an oil spill from a leaked pipeline of Petron Corp.

The rescue team is equipped with two rubber boats to reach the isolated residents and hand over relief goods. The team is coordinating with the local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

Local officials have confirmed two fatalities from the floods in Cavite province.