US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg PHOTO FROM STATE.GOV
MANILA, Philippines—The newly designated United States Ambassador to the Philippines said he was “motivated” by the Filipino spirit and “impressed” by the determination of those affected by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name Haiyan) to rebuild their lives.
“I arrive at a moment of great challenge in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda,” US Ambassador Designate Philip Goldberg said in his arrival video message Tuesday.
“We feel motivated by your spirit and impressed by your determination to rebuild lives and livelihood in the tradition of ‘damayan’,” he said.
Goldberg was sworn in as US Ambassador on Thursday, wherein he remarked at the resilience of the Filipinos and that he had no doubt that the Philippines will be able to recover from the disaster brought by Yolanda.
“If I’ve learned one thing from the Filipino friends I’ve made all around the world, and there are Filipinos all around the world, it’s that they’re warm, but they’re also tough and resilient,” Goldberg said.
“There should be no doubt that they will bounce back. I have no doubt,” he said.
The US was among the first to deploy its air and sea assets to support the relief operations in the devastated areas of Leyte and Samar in the Visayas region.
It has also donated at least $50 million in financial assistance through the US Agency for International Development (AID).
“My colleagues at the Embassy, the US AID, and the US military are working hard in support of your government’s efforts. We will be there also as you rebuild,” Goldberg said.