PH sends team to assist OFWs affected by typhoon in Saipan

FILE: Department of Foreign Affairs building (Photo: Department of Foreign Affairs, Republic of the Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday sent a consular team to assist overseas Filipino workers in Northern Marianas who were displaced after Typhoon Yutu (Rosita) swept across the islands last week.

According to the agency, a two-man team from the Philippine Consulate General in Agana is traveling to Saipan to extend relief assistance to affected OFWs.

Consul General Marciano de Borja said aside from distributing cash assistance, Vice Consul Alex Vallespin and Assistance to Nationals (ATN) Officer Juliet Simbul will also check and assess the conditions of the Filipino community in the island and meet with Saipan officials.

The envoy said some Filipinos were reported to have lost their houses in the typhoon and have limited access to food and water.

According to de Borja, there are about 6,000 OFWs among the estimated 15,000 members of the Filipino community in Saipan, the largest island in the Northern Marianas.