PH sympathizes with Japan as it reels from ‘Hagibis’

People watch the Isuzu River swollen by Typhoon Hagibis in Ise, central Japan Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019. Tokyo and surrounding areas braced for a powerful typhoon forecast as the worst in six decades, with streets and trains stations unusually quiet Saturday as rain poured over the city. (Photo from Kyodo News via AP)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government on Sunday expressed deep sympathy to the people and government of Japan as Typhoon Hagibis continued to batter the East Asian country.

“On behalf of the Filipino people, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte expresses his deep sympathy to the people and government of Japan for those who perished, were injured, or found themselves homeless in the aftermath of the strongest typhoon to hit Japan in decades,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.

Panelo said that the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo was closely monitoring the situation there and were in coordination wit the Filipino community in the affected areas.

The President had also asked the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to get in touch with Japanese authorities for possible humanitarian assistance that the Philippine government could provide.

According to an Associated Press report, Japan has launched major rescue operations as the fatalities left by the storm climbed to at least 19.

More than a dozen remain missing.

Japanese authorities had previously said that Hagibis was on par with a typhoon that hit the country way back in 1958.

/atm