Aboard the HMS Illustrious, warship and lifeline for Yolanda survivors

 

"Resilient" may be an overused adjective for Filipino survivors of calamities. But for Captain Mike Utley, commanding officer of the British Royal Navy's HMS Illustrious, the Pinoys' seemingly positive outlook post-Yolanda is worth noting.

 

"Despite the sometimes horrific destruction, you know 90 to 95 percent of their homes were destroyed, they still smile. They still wanted to work, they were proud of the lifestyle they had, and they wanted to get that back," Utley told media on Wednesday.

"That's inspiring for anybody," he said.

 

With almost a thousand personnel on board, amphibious helicopter carrier HMS Illustrious, nicknamed "Lusty", started its Philippine operations, codenamed OP PATWIN, on November 25, bringing 142 metric tons of food and 154 tons of supplies to Yolanda-hit Panay and nearby islands.

 

"All they need is that help, those tools, the equipment to start putting their lives back together," said Utley. "We gave them a lot of help with that, but they can help themselves. And they want to (do that) and they want to rebuild their lives, rebuild their villages, and get back to normal."

He said that although military units like the ship's company aboard the Illustrious and the complement of Royal Marines, soldiers, and pilots that came with them are trained for relief work, their work is done. 

 

After almost two weeks of operations, 380 flying hours for delivery, and an estimated 40,000 Filipinos helped, Lusty was set to leave Manila Thursday.

Before the ship weighed anchor, though, the Illustrious opened its hatchways to media, including GMA News Online, to show how its officers and crew accomplished relief operations in the Visayas and in Palawan.

 

Here are some scenes from aboard HMS Illustrious: