Taiwan on Wednesday donated US$200,000 to the Philippine province of Abra to help with reconstruction efforts following a powerful earthquake late last month.
At least 11 people were killed and 410 injured after the northern province was struck by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake on July 27, triggering landslides, toppling buildings and causing estimated agricultural losses of 287 million pesos (US$5.17 million).
Manila Economic and Cultural Office chairman and Taiwan Representative Silvestre Bello received the donation from Representative to the Philippines Michael Hsu (徐佩勇) at a ceremony in Manila, which was also attended by Abra Province Governor Dominic Valera.
Photo: CNA
Abra would soon recover with the help of donation, Valera said at the ceremony.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Filipinos “express their heartfelt gratitude for the Taiwanese government’s goodwill and concern,” Bello said.
Separately, Bello addressed concerns about tensions between Taiwan and China, saying that contingencies are in place with regards to emergency evacuation, shelter, medicine and food supplies.
However, the lives of Filipinos in Taiwan are “normal” and there have been “no requests for shelter, let alone evacuation,” he said.
Beijing last week launched an unprecedented set of military exercises encircling Taiwan in response to a visit by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday and Wednesday last week.
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