Late in 2013 when Yolanda struck there were thousands killed and injured due to the storm. The carnage triggered a large number of inquiries by foreign embassy’ concerning their citizens vacationing or residing in the Philippines. These inquiries were from friends and relatives of the Ex-Pats concerned about their safety and wellbeing. Because of the damage to the communication system from the storm the folks at home were unable to contact their loved ones in the Philippines and did not know their status. Even when the systems were repaired and restored after the storm communication was difficult as the system was overloaded because of the number of calls being made. The embassy’s request for information was a low priority for the Police compared to body recovery and identification, assisting storm victims with shelter and food, and protecting property from possible looting. At the same time the people at home waited and waited for any word of their loved ones as they watched the results of the destruction from the disaster on their television news. Some of the relatives went to the step of flying to the disaster area to personally search for their loved ones.
History
In March 2014 the PNP formed the Foreign National Keeper Network in Manila and directed it to be a nationwide asset of the PNP. It was formed to organize groups of Ex-Pats to be available in the event of disaster/emergency to aid the PNP. This aid would be in the form of locating other Ex-Pats and confirming their status, reporting back to the PNP so the information can be relayed to the embassy of the individual. This task would be tackled after the Keeper has made sure their own family is safe and their situation is stable.