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MANILA, Philippines ? United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has assured the Philippine government of international humanitarian assistance in the wake of the widespread and massive devastation caused by typhoon Ondoy over the weekend, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.
The UN chief gave his assurance to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo during a meeting at the UN headquarters in New York Monday (Tuesday morning in Manila) when President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo?s appeal for international aid was conveyed.
Romulo met with Ban and Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes at the UN Headquarters shortly after the President issued her appeal through Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr., chairman of the National Disaster Coordinating Council, the DFA said in a statement.
In responding to Manila?s request for assistance, the secretary general said the United Nations is considering issuing a flash appeal for emergency assistance from both member states and non-government organizations.
?We are heartened by the assurances given by the Secretary General and the Undersecretary General that the United Nations will take positive action on our request for assistance,? Romulo said.
The UN chief also expressed his sympathy and condolences to the Philippine government and to the families of the more than 250 people who perished in the floods that also displaced more than 500,000 people in Metro Manila and 25 other provinces.
In an earlier meeting with Romulo, Holmes, who also heads the Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (Ocha), said his agency is ready to coordinate international humanitarian assistance and is looking into the possibility of utilizing the Central Emergency Response Fund?a humanitarian fund established by the UN to enable more timely and reliable humanitarian assistance to those affected by natural disasters and armed conflicts.
Holmes told Romulo that Ocha personnel are assisting in relief operations in Manila and that additional personnel based in Bangkok are on their way to the Philippines to assess the situation and give recommendations on the kind of assistance that is required.
In anticipation of another weather disturbance that is approaching the country, the NDCC chairman said the Philippines is in need of emergency supplies, generators, food, and drinking water.
The United Nations also coordinated international assistance for the Philippines when typhoons Milenyo, Reming, and Senyang devastated the Bicol Region in 2007.
