At least 16 countries and six international organizations have already expressed intention to extend relief aid and assist n the rehabilitation of areas that were affected by typhoon “Odette,” the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) disclosed Tuesday, Dec. 28.
Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad, Executive Director of the NDRRMC, said among those who pledged assistance include Australia, Canada, China, Hungary, Ireland, France, Singapore, Israel, New Zealand, Switzerland, Republic of Korea, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
Meanwhile, international organizations which vowed to extend assistance to the Philippines were the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Center), United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the European Union (EU), United Nations Children’s Foundation (UNICEF), and the United Nations Central Emergency Fund (UNCERF).
So far, Jalad said the national government has already received donations from Japan through the Japan International Coordinating Agency (JICA) as well as Israel, Taiwan, China, and the AHA Center.
Among the items offered by the donors and delivered to the country were shelter repair kits, tarpaulins, kitchen sets, relief items, health items, an non-food items. The NDRRMC also received pledges for logistics support, rehabilitation support, and financial assistance.
“Iyon naman ay pinadala na natin sa mga apektadong lugar (Those items were already transported to the affected areas),” Jalad said in a press briefing.
Meanwhile, the death toll due to Odette increased to 397 with the retrieval of nine more bodies. There were 83 persons missing and 1,147 others who were injured.
The damage to infrastructure rose to P16.72 billion while there were P5.34 billion worth of agricultural losses in the affected regions.
Jalad said President Duterte also directed to augment the quick response fund (QRF) of affected local government units (LGUs) so they can respond to the needs of their constituents.
“Mayroon din inaayos na financial assistance para sa mga apektadong pamilya o indibidwal. Iyan ay pangunguanahan ng pondo na ibibigay sa local government units. Kanina nagsagawa ng bidding ang NDRRMC sa pangunguna ng (There will also be a financial assistance for the affected families or individuals. This will come from the funds that will be given to the local government units. Earlier, the NDRRMC conducted a bidding which was led by the DILG),” he shared.
The details of the financial assistance for the affected families were not disclosed by Jalad although Malacanang earlier announced that every affected families will get a one-time P5,000 worth of cash aaid from the national government.
“Makakaasa ang mga kababayan sa patuloy na tulong na isasagawa ng gobyerno (The public can expect of the continuous assistance that will be done by the government),” Jalad said.