PH to donate $100,000 in humanitarian aid to Turkey quake victims

FILE PHOTO: Rescuers search for survivors under the rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will donate $100,000 in humanitarian aid to Turkey earthquake victims through the House of Representative Speaker’s Disaster Relief and Rehabilitation Initiative.

According to Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, the money also counts as a gift and symbol of gratitude from the Philippines to Turkey for helping Leyte, and many parts of Eastern Samar in November 2013 – when Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) ravaged parts of the country, killing at least 6,000 people.

Early on Monday, February 6, a devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked central Turkey and Syria. To date, the major temblor had killed at least 28,000 and injured thousands of others.

“The assistance extended by Turkey, the United States, and our allies and friends abroad helped ease the pain and suffering of our people,” Romualdez said in a statement on Sunday.

The Speaker said the $100,000 humanitarian aid will come from his office’s Disaster Relief and Rehabilitation Initiative which was launched during his 59th birthday celebration last November 14, 2022.

Romualdez said he is set to turn over the $100,000 to Turkey Ambassador to the Philippines Niyazi Evren Akyol and his wife Inddri Puspitarasi on Monday, February 13 at his office at Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City.

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