Taiwan on Friday donated US$400,000 to the Philippines to help with the Southeast Asian country’s reconstruction efforts after it suffered heavy losses from Tropical Storm Nalgae last month.
Manila Economic and Cultural Office chairman Silvestre Bello received the donation from Representative to the Philippines Michael Hsu (徐佩勇) at a ceremony in Manila.
The storm swept through the Philippines at the end of last month, killing 159 people, Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council data showed.
Photo: AFP
The Philippines also experienced about US$86.63 million in infrastructure damage, and US$26.77 million in losses to the fishery and livestock breeding industries. The agriculture industry lost US$111.72 million.
Bello expressed gratitude to Taiwan and its people for their generosity, which he said strengthens the Philippines’ relief efforts, especially to Cagayan and Isabela, two major agricultural provinces that experienced the heaviest losses.
Taiwan in the past year has donated US$1.1 million to the Philippines to help pay for relief and reconstruction efforts after natural disasters.
That includes a donation of US$200,000 made to Abra province in August to help with reconstruction following a magnitude 7.0 earthquake in late July.
The Taipei Economic and Culture Office in the Philippines said Taiwan would continue to work closely with the Philippines in a wide range of areas, such as agriculture, education and tourism, and enhance bilateral cooperation and partnership, which is expected to improve the welfare of people in both countries.
Separately, Taiwan has pledged US$100,000 to Saint Lucia to help the Caribbean ally recover from devastation caused by recent flooding.
Heavy rainfall on Sunday last week triggered devastating floods in the capital, Castries, and also in the country’s north. Many houses, roads and bridges were destroyed.
The donation is to help Saint Lucia with its reconstruction efforts, and further assistance could be given if needed, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
No Taiwanese living in the Caribbean nation are known to have been affected by the disaster, it added.
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