EU offers P35 M aid for flood relief operations

MANILA, Philippines — The European Union (EU) on Monday said that it was allocating € 700,000 (P35.88 M) in aid to the Philippines to support disaster relief operations after monsoon floods heavily affected Manila and nearby provinces the past week.

“The funds will be used primarily for distribution of relief items, water and sanitation, debris clean-up, food assistance, shelter support and medical aid. Over 127,000 vulnerable people in need of urgent assistance are expected to directly benefit from this funding,” Lubomir Frebort, Chargé d’Affaires of the EU Delegation to the Philippines, said in a statement emailed to reporters.

Frebort added that the assistance was announced by the European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response following the report of the assessment team’s visit to the affected areas.

On August 9, Frebort, in a statement emailed to reporters, said that a local humanitarian aid expert was working on the ground to assess the damage caused by the heavy rains and to determine possible assistance for the affected population in line with the European Union policy of providing humanitarian aid to the victims of both natural and man-made disasters worldwide.

The statement also noted that in 2011, the European Commission provided € 7.6 million of humanitarian assistance to families affected by typhoons Pedring, Quiel and tropical storm Sendong.