MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE)  – Philippine authorities are still establishing the condition of the Filipino community as well as its contingent to the peacekeeping mission in Haiti, following a strong earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince.

In a text message to abs-cbnNEWS.com, DFA spokesman Eduardo Malaya said the Philippine Mission to the United Nations in New York has had difficulty in establishing contact with the 10th Philippine Peacekeeping Contingent serving with the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti.

“The UN headquarters in New York has also not been able to communicate with the Minustah in Port-au-Prince,” Malaya said.

Malaya said there are 157 officers and enlisted personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and 22 officers from the Philippine National Police (PNP) serving as UN peacekeepers in Haiti.

He added that there are at least 400 other Filipinos in Haiti.

Communications to and from Haiti have been damaged during the intensity 7 earthquake.

“The DFA will provide the public with updates as soon as reports are received from New York or the Philippine Embassy in Havana, Cuba which covers Haiti,” Malaya said.

Some Filipino peacekeepers trapped

Meanwhile, ANC’s Dateline Philippines interviewed AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner on the state of Filipino peacekeepers in Haiti.

Brawner said they received a call from Lt. Col. Lope Dagoy, the commander of their peacekeeping forces in Haiti, informing them that some members of the contingent have been trapped inside some of the buildings.

“But as of now, we have not reported any casualties yet,” Brawner said.

According to Brawner, the Filipino peacekeeping contingent is stationed at the UN Headquarters based in Port-au-Prince.

“They're main task mainly is to secure the headquarters and provide security in the area,” Brawner said.

He added, “We are trying to contact them. The good thing is that, according to Col. Dagoy, none of our Filipino peacekeepers have been harmed by this earthquake.”

Brawner said other members of the contingent are helping out recover personnel from the ruins of some buildings that collapsed due to the major earthquake.

“Right now, most of the other members are helping in the rescue operation,” he said. With Dateline Philippines