Mount Mayon is an active stratovolcano with a near perfectly symmetrical cone shape. This perfect symmetry brings in tourists to Mount Mayon in the Philippines and the surrounding national park. The volcano is located in the Albay province in the Philippines and rises 8,077 feet into the air. On 18 January 2018, the populace in the nearby town of Daraga were shocked as they noticed Lava flows from the crater of the Mayon volcano followed by loud noise and sudden giant mushroom shaped cloud as high as 10 Kilometers.
In response, the Local Government Unit of Albay raised the alert level from 3 to 4. In support to the measure being implemented by the LGU. 5FSSU was tasked by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Regional Office 5 to provide transportation assistance to the affected populace during the onslaught of the volcano eruption. Eagerly to help, COL ALCON R MAGDAMIT QMS (GSC) PA the Commanding Officer of 5FSSU, LSG, ASCOM, PA immediately provided and utilized two (2) units Truck, 2 ½ Ton, Cargo, M35A2 with Bumper Marking Numbers 5FSSU-52 and 5FSSU-53 and two (2) units Truck, 1 ¼ Ton, Troop Carrier, KM450 with Bumper Marking Numbers TAC-3 and TAC-6 with drivers, assistant drivers and four (4) escorts/security per vehicles.
5FSSU successfully implemented the following activities indicated in the table below in support to OCD R5 from 20 January – 28 March 2018:
Nr of Dispatches Activity
Nr of Transported Evacuees Nr of Transported Relief Goods/Items/Volunteers Total Distance Travel
86 2,645 -657 Socks of Rice
-715 Gallons of Drinking Water
-105 units Shelter Hub Tents
-1,227 Boxes of assorted goods
-180 Volunteer personnel 6,120 Kms
As the primary Philippine Army Logistics unit in the Bicol Region the 5FSSU successfully provided the transportation requirements to the affected populace and volunteer personnel during the disaster. This clearly shows the inherited traits of every Filipinos the “BAYANIHAN”.