By Myris Lee
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has formally accepted the assistance offered by China for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Marawi City which suffered major damages in the five-month battle against terrorist groups in 2017.
DFA Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs Ma. Theresa Lazaro had an exchange of letters on April 29 with Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian to formalize the country’s acceptance of the Chinese Government grant amounting to RMB8,000,000 or P65,364,689.00.
The grant will be used for the Task Force Bangon Marawi request of six fire trucks for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Marawi City.
In 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte had a RMB1,000,000,000 agreement for economic and technical cooperation to finance livelihood projects, infrastructure facilities, feasibility studies, and other projects in the Philippines that includes the fire truck donation.
The government authorized the Bureau of Fire Protection as the recipient and responsible for facilitating the donation. – ag
