Japan offers additional $4.2 M in aid for ‘Pablo’ victims

MANILA, Philippines – Japan on Thursday offered an additional grant of $4.2 million in support for relief efforts in the wake of Typhoon Pablo, the worst storm to hit the Philippines this year.

In a statement, the Japanese embassy in Manila said the grant was in response to the Response-Action Plan for Recovery issued by the United Nations and the Philippines following the serious damages suffered by the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

The embassy noted that the emergency grant would provide urgently needed food, shelter, water, and sanitation through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the International Federation　of　Red　Cross　and　Red　Crescent　Societies (IFRC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).

The Japanese had earlier given the Philippines 45 million yen worth of emergency relief goods through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Latest reports had noted that the death toll from the typhoon, which battered Visayas and Mindanao last week, had risen to 902 while 635 people remained missing.

The Philippine government also noted that damage in infrastructure, agriculture, and properties was estimated at P14 billion, and that it had affected at least 5 million people.