Two more bodies identified as armed followers of the Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram were recovered Wednesday, bringing to 58 the number of dead from the “royal army,” Malaysian Armed Forces chief Zulkifeli Mohd Zinsaid later in the day.
The bodies of another 22 Sulu gunmen had been hauled to hospitals in Tawau and Lahad Datu after these were stumbled upon by Malaysian security forces in three areas of Semporna and Lahad Datu, Sabah Police Commissioner Hamza Taib said Monday during an interview with a Sabah-based radio station.
The Australian government on Tuesday announced additional aid of 2.3 million Australian dollars (around P96 million) to support the Philippines’ continuing relief efforts for victims of typhoon “Pablo” in Eastern Mindanao.
The Philippine embassy in the United States has called on Filipino-Americans to lend a helping hand to victims of Typhoon “Pablo” in Mindanao even as it thanked the US government for providing an additional $3 million in humanitarian assistance.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz has ordered the regional offices of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) to help locate families of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) coming from areas hit by Typhoon “Pablo” in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Desperate and starving residents on Tuesday clambered onto trucks distributing food and used clothing as local and international groups continued to deliver much-needed relief goods to villages hit by Typhoon “Pablo” last week.
The United Nations on Monday launched a $65 million global appeal to help desperate survivors of a typhoon that killed more than 600 people, left nearly 900 missing and thousands homeless in the southern Philippines.
President Aquino on Friday flew into this town hardest-hit by Typhoon “Pablo” to meet with bruised and grieving survivors and promise them government assistance in rebuilding their lives.
The United Nations agency for disaster reduction has lauded the Philippines’ preparedness for Typhoon “Pablo,” saying enhanced weather forecasting and flood warning systems helped reduce loss of lives from the typhoon.
Improved early warning systems in the Philippines saved many lives as the country was ravaged by Typhoon Bopha, the United Nations office for disaster risk reduction said Wednesday.
President Aquino Wednesday night expressed concern over reports of the high death toll and heavy damage wrought by Typhoon “Pablo” and exhorted successful Filipino professionals abroad to extend help to the hundreds of families grappling with its aftermath.
Relatives of those still missing from a stricken Italian cruise ship laid flowers on the sea by the wreck on Friday, a week after the tragedy in which up to 32 people are feared dead.
