Protocols are in place if the government needs assistance from the private sector and foreign nations for disaster response, Department of Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. assured on Tuesday.

Teodoro made the remarks after a C-295 aircraft of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) was damaged while on a relief mission to Batanes.

“We have those protocols in place for not only the private sector, but better yet our partner nations,” Teodoro said during a press briefing at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) headquarters in Quezon City.

The plane, which was delivering family food packs to the island, met a landing mishap at the Basco Airport. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) assured the damage could be repaired.

According to Teodoro, he would prefer to tap the country’s partner nations in initial relief operations. They can bring in the private sector with airlift services once weather conditions normalize, he said.

“Private aircraft normally ay insured ‘yan. ‘Pag dinadala mo sa risk areas, hindi babayaran ng insurance ang mga danyos na maaari nilang magastusan kung magkasakuna,” Teodoro said.

“Ngayon, pagka-normalize na ang weather conditions—hindi naman titigil ang relief ‘pag normalize na ang conditions—doon na sila pwedeng pumasok,” he added.

Teodoro made certain that relief operations will not hamper AFP from conducting external defense operations. | PND