US donates P196 M to typhoon victims

An additional P196 million ($3.5 million) in aid to victims of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine in the Philippines has been provided by the US government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

-  MICHAEL PUNONGBAYAN

The funds will augment the P84 million ($1.5 million) donated by the US last month shortly after Kristine's onslaught, which claimed the lives of at least 159 people in the Bicol region and northern Luzon provinces.

Around 2,430,237 families or 9,626,456 people affected and displaced by the cyclone are receiving government assistance.

Clean water, shelter and cash assistance for residents of Bicol and Batangas will be provided by the USAID through the additional funds. Logistics and sanitation support are also covered.

The total value of US support for the Philippines' disaster response is now at P280 million ($5 million).

"As your friend, partner and ally, the United States is committed to working with the Philippine government and people as they rebuild and recover," said US Ambassador Mary Kay Carlson.

Since Oct. 25, the US has been working with humanitarian partners to deliver lifesaving assistance to communities affected by tropical cyclones and flooding.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) earlier distributed 1,500 shelter-grade tarpaulins and 1,500 kitchen sets funded by the USAID to disaster-affected families in Albay and Camarines Sur.

These relief items were pre-positioned at the OCD humanitarian relief depot at Fort Magsaysay, an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement site in Nueva Ecija.

The US embassy in Manila said the USAID and IOM are working together to assist more than 4,000 families in Bicol, the Ilocos region and Batangas by providing sheltergrade tarpaulins, shelter repair kits and WASH kits.

Through USAID funding, the UN World Food Program also mobilized 92 trucks that supported the country's Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in delivering more than 150,000 family food packs and other relief items to Albay, Benguet, Camarines Sur, Ilocos Norte and La Union.