Europe’s typhoon aid to PH reach P380-M

FILE: DEVASTATIONS IN TRAVESIA AND SAN FRANCISCO, GUINOBATAN, ALBAY DUE TO INTENSE LAHAR FLOW FROM THE SLOPES OF MAYON VOLCANO BROUGHT BY TYPHOON ROLLY #RollyPH (Photo: Congressman Fernando “Didi” Tibor Cabredo/Facebook)

MANILA – The European Union (EU) and its member states’ total assistance to the Philippines since Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses struck has reached more than EUR6.45 million (approximately PHP380.1 million), the EU Delegation in Manila announced Friday.

The delegation said this is on top of its contributions to the emergency funds of multilateral humanitarian institutions that supported Manila’s disaster response, such as the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.

Among the European countries that contributed are Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Meanwhile, the EU lauded the Philippine government for the acceleration of the recovery efforts and for addressing the humanitarian concerns brought about by the two powerful typhoons.

“The world has again witnessed the compassion shown by the Filipino people in helping each other, and the Filipino ‘bayanihan’ spirit which is known worldwide,” the EU said.

Aside from humanitarian assistance, the EU has previously introduced the use of Copernicus space program in the Philippines, which draws on a large number of space and on-site measure systems.

The program is supported by EU-owned satellites designed to meet the needs of Copernicus services and their users, including monitoring earth to ensure that people are prepared and protected during disasters.