Source : Perth Now news
Australia has offered humanitarian aid to the Philippines after the restive Mindanao region was rocked by a massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake.
At least 35 people were killed after the earthquake struck the southern Philippines on Monday, collapsing a building containing popular Filipino fast food outlet Jollibee, sending schoolchildren scrambling in the Soccsksargen region, and sparking tsunami regions across the island nation.
At least a dozen people were reportedly still missing on Wednesday, as emergency services began sifting through the wreckage.
In a statement, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said “our thoughts are with the Australian-Filipino community, the people of the Philippines, and all those affected by the earthquake near Mindanao”.
“Australia is ready to provide humanitarian assistance if requested,” she said.
“We stand with our close friends at this time of great difficulty.”
Senator Wong is in Berlin for bilateral meetings with European leaders, including about the future of the war in Ukraine and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
In a social media post, Philippines President Ferdinand Marco Jnr, son of the late dictator of the same name, said he had directed all relevant government agencies to respond to the crisis and for all classes to be suspended across Mindanao “until further notice”.
“The national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind,” he said.
“I am in constant communication with our regional offices and local chief executives on the ground.”
Mindanao, located on the southern tip of the Philippines on the country’s border with Malaysia, is not unfamiliar with crisis.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, or MILF, fought a decades-long conflict with the central government in a bid to cleave Mindanao off from the rest of the Philippines.
Abu Sayyaf Group, a jihadist criminal group, have been active in the area as well, while in 2017 Philippines armed forces fought to liberate the city of Marawi from groups affiliated with the Islamic State Group.
Alleged Bondi Beach gunmen Sayad and Naveed Akram are alleged to have travelled to Davao City, the biggest city in Mindanao, in 2025.
