MANILA— The Philippine government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), on Wednesday thanked the foreign states and international organizations that offered the Philippines aid in its recovery and relief efforts following the onslaught of Typhoon Ompong in Northern Luzon over the weekend.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said Australia, France, Canada, China, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States were among those that offered humanitarian assistance to the victims of “Ompong.”
International organizations like the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management, the European Union and United Nations agencies such as the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the UN Children’s Fund, and the World Food Programme have also offered aid to the typhoon victims.
“On behalf of those who were affected by Typhoon Ompong, we express our gratitude for this support, and we will make sure that the Filipino resilience and ability to bounce back after a crisis will shine through,” Cayetano said.
Aside from immediate humanitarian aid, the Philippines has also received offers for post-disaster rehabilitation of affected agricultural areas, Cayetano added.
As the lead agency for the Philippine International Humanitarian cluster (PIHAC), the DFA has activated the Philippine Humanitarian Assistance Registry (PHAR) where details of offers of assistance shall be recorded.
In the PHAR, all needed resources for disaster operations from the various response clusters headed by the different government agencies are also listed.
“We don’t have the specific details yet but most are pledges that will be channelled to the Philippine Red Cross, UN agencies and NGOs (non-government organizations),” DFA Assistant Secretary Elmer Cato said in a text message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
The DFA, meanwhile, said it will continue to extend PHP5,000 cash assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) whose flights were cancelled.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola said a total of PHP680,000 was distributed to 136 OFWs at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the Clark International Airport from Saturday to Monday.
In an interview, Arriola said the agency expects that a number of OFWs may opt to claim the cash aid at their respective embassies or Consulate General abroad.
“So far, only few have claimed but we expect they will claim directly at our foreign posts in their respective destinations,” she told PNA.
“The release of cash assistance is continuous until Friday, by then we can you give you figures,” she added.
Affected inbound and outbound OFWs can personally claim the cash assistance at DFA Office of Migrant Workers Affairs at the DFA Main Office in Pasay City and in DFA Consular Offices nationwide from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Sept. 28, 2018.
To claim the cash assistance, affected OFWs must submit their passport, airline ticket showing their original date of departure, re-issued ticket showing new date of departure, Employment Contract, and Overseas Employment Certificate. (PNA)
