Foreign embassies vow help for PH disaster relief efforts

  • Aquino, Trillanes, Pimentel named Senators-elect

    Aquino, Trillanes, Pimentel named Senators-elect

    Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom
    Aquino, Trillanes, Pimentel named Senators-elect

    Amid questions hurled against its early partial proclamation, the poll body on Friday named three more winning Senate candidates even before it completed its official count.

  • UNA to Brillantes: Don't quit

    UNA to Brillantes: Don't quit

    Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom
    UNA to Brillantes: Don't quit

    The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) does not want Commission on Elections (Comelec) chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. to quit.

  • Why Pimentel skipped his proclamation

    Why Pimentel skipped his proclamation

    Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom
    Why Pimentel skipped his proclamation

    When the poll body proclaimed Aquilino Martin "Koko" Pimentel senator-elect Friday, he joined seven of his fellow bets in the administration slate.

  • Top 6 senators proclaimed

    Top 6 senators proclaimed

    Top 6 senators proclaimed

    Newly-elected Senators Grace Poe, Loren Legarda, Alan Peter Cayetano, Francis Escudero, Nancy Binay and Sonny Angara, with the Commission of Elections en banc—sitting as National Board of Canvassers, during their proclamation as the top six winning senators, at the NBOC canvassing center, Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), Pasay City, south of Manila, on 16 May 2013, four days after the 2013 midterm elections. (Mike Alquinto/NPPA Images)

  • Mid-term election a technology and political disaster – watchdogs

    Tinig Ng Botante

    By MARK MADRONA, VERA Files THE conduct of last Monday’s polls and the Commission on Election’s “arbitrary and highly irregular” decisions during the canvassing have turned the mid-term elections into a technology and political disaster, a coalition of poll watchdogs … Continue reading →

At least two foreign embassies on Wednesday have offered help in PH's disaster relief efforts for flood victims of the monsoon.

The United States Embassy intends provide $100,000 (P4.3 million) this week to augment state funds for rescue and rehabilitation, a statement showed.

In a separate statement, the European Union Delegation to the Philippines is meanwhile eyeing assistance for flood-affected areas.

"On behalf of the US government and the American people, I extend my heartfelt sympathies to those who are displaced and who have lost homes and livelihoods due to the floods." Ambassador Harry Thomas, Jr. said statement.

He added that the US Agency for International Development will also conduct an initial damage assessment in Metro Manila and other provinces determine the extent of damage caused by flooding and determine immediate needs of communities.

"[T]he United States will work with the Philippine government to determine where our assistance is most needed. We remain committed to helping the Philippine people overcome this difficult time," Thomas said.

For his part, Lubomir Frebort, Chargé d’Affaires of the EU Delegation to the Philippines, said the Western bloc "extends its deep sympathy to more than 800,000 people affected by the heavy downpour in three regions."

Meanwhile, the Budget department said on Tuesday that P5.95 billion in state calamity funds remain available for disaster response and rehabilitation.

This amount is apart from the P2.989 billion in Quick Response Funds (QRF) released to national government agencies earlier this year, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said in a statement.

Of the total, the Agriculture department received P550 million; Education department, P550 million; Health department, P170.2 million; Defense department, P882.5 million; Public Works department, P662.5 million; and Social Work department, P662.5 million.

"These funds are readily available to enable national government agencies to immediately respond to the needs of localities and citizens affected by calamities," Abad said.

He added that the government is ready to augment these funds. "We have enough savings that can be realigned to support disaster response and rehabilitation activities," Abad said.

  • Filipino assaulted by 4 Taiwanese in Tainan

    Taipei (The China Post/ANN) - Police confirmed that a Philippine worker was attacked by four Taiwanese and beaten with iron sticks and baseball bats in Tainan City on May 16 following the recent heated dispute between Taiwan and the Philippines.

  • Taiwanese travel agencies banned from trips to Philippines
    Taiwanese travel agencies banned from trips to Philippines

    Taipei (The China Post/ANN) - Taiwan's Tourism Bureau announced yesterday that all domestic travel agencies are banned from taking any tour groups to the Philippines after the Executive Yuan recently announced a "red" travel alert against the Philippines, one of eight second-stage sanctions issued against the Philippines over the shooting of a local fisherman in disputed waters.

  • Some Chinese tourists 'uncivilised': top official
    Some Chinese tourists 'uncivilised': top official

    The dire manners and "uncivilised behaviour" of some Chinese tourists abroad are harming the country's image, said a top official who lamented their poor "quality and breeding", according to state-run media.

  • Why Nancy wasn't at the proclamation ceremony
    Why Nancy wasn't at the proclamation ceremony

    The daughter of Vice President Jejomar Binay wants everything to be “right” for her proclamation.

  • Villar, Ejercito, Honasan named last Senators-elect
    Villar, Ejercito, Honasan named last Senators-elect

    The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will proclaim more winners in the senatorial race Saturday night, amid criticisms of "premature" proclamations.

Loading...

Editor’s note:Yahoo! Philippines encourages responsible comments that add dimension to the discussion. No bashing or hate speech, please. You can express your opinion without slamming others or making derogatory remarks.

Odd Stories

  • Denmark favorite to win Eurovision Song Contest

    Denmark favorite to win Eurovision Song Contest

    AP - 5 hours ago
    Denmark favorite to win Eurovision Song Contest

    MALMO, Sweden (AP) — An ethno-inspired flute and drum tune from Denmark is the bookmakers' favorite to win this year's Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, which also features a bizarre opera pop number from Romania and an Armenian rock song written by the guitarist of Black Sabbath.

  • Canadian astronaut wrestles with gravity after spaceflight

    Canadian astronaut wrestles with gravity after spaceflight

    Reuters - Fri, May 17, 2013
    Canadian astronaut wrestles with gravity after spaceflight

    By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Back on Earth, Canadian astronaut and cyberspace tweeter Chris Hadfield is getting a rough re-introduction to gravity after a five-month stint aboard the International Space Station, the former commander told reporters during a video webcast from Houston. Hadfield became a social media rock star with his zero-gravity version of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" and a continuous stream of commentary on Twitter about his life in orbit. But living

  • Idaho man sentenced to seven years for killing zoo monkey

    Idaho man sentenced to seven years for killing zoo monkey

    Reuters - Fri, May 17, 2013
    Idaho man sentenced to seven years for killing zoo monkey

    By Laura Zuckerman (Reuters) - An Idaho man who admitted to breaking into a Boise zoo last year and killing a monkey was sentenced to seven years in prison on Thursday, court records show. Michael Watkins, 22, of Weiser, Idaho, in March pleaded guilty to attempted grand theft, a felony, and misdemeanor animal cruelty stemming from the break-in and beating death of the monkey at Zoo Boise in November. The primate was one of the zoo's two Patas monkeys, ground-dwelling animals from Africa that

  • From "bunga bunga" to "pianists" - Italy's political slang

    From "bunga bunga" to "pianists" - Italy's political slang

    Reuters - Fri, May 17, 2013
    From "bunga bunga" to "pianists" - Italy's political slang

    By Naomi O'Leary ROME (Reuters) - An encyclopedia of Italian political slang has shone a light on a colorful and Byzantine world where lawmakers and journalists speak a language you won't find in any ordinary dictionary. The confusing nature of Italian politics has come to the fore in recent months, with an electoral result in which the leading party won the lower house but not the senate, a resulting two-month stalemate, and the final formation of a government led by none of the candidates who

  • Turks see art as good investment but also path to prestige

    Turks see art as good investment but also path to prestige

    Reuters - Thu, May 16, 2013
    Turks see art as good investment but also path to prestige

    By Asli Kandemir ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's contemporary art scene is buzzing. Collectors pay millions for the hottest works at exclusive auctions, high-end galleries are springing up by the dozen, and more and more Turkish artists are holding exhibitions abroad. The clients are the usual family magnates and super-rich - Istanbul ranks fifth in the world on the Forbes list of billionaires. But they also include an expanding class of young professionals looking for investment opportunities

  • 25 years of feeding a city’s body and soul VERA Files - The Inbox

    Text and photos by Elizabeth Lolarga,VERA Files It is apropos that a café founded by artists, writers and other individuals who operate outside society’s margins should mark its 25th year as a now respected Baguio institution with music, poetry and … Continue reading →

  • A festival to celebrate 133rd birthday of Sarung Banggi composer VERA Files - The Inbox

    By Pablo A. Tariman, VERA Files Bicol composer Potenciano Gregorio-- who penned the famous Bicol love song, “Sarung Banggi”-- turns 133 on Saturday (May 18) with a festival carrying the name of his composition. But his famous love song has … Continue reading →

  • Filipino workers paying the price for Malacañang’s bungling Ellen Tordesillas, Contributor - The Inbox

    Commentary By Ellen Tordesillas It took a week for President Aquino to realize that the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by a member of the Philippine Coast Guard team in the disputed waters of South China Sea could lead to … Continue reading →

  • Hot water treatment produces sweet, juicy mangoes VERA Files - The Inbox

    By Leilanie G. Adriano, VERA Files At the warehouse of farmer Ricardo Tolentino in Laoag, Ilocos Norte are the sweetest and juiciest mangoes, courtesy of a hot water treatment developed at the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU). The technology was … Continue reading →

  • Daisy Hontiveros Avellana: A lifetime of theater VERA Files - The Inbox

    By Pablo A. Tariman, VERA Files The First Lady of Philippine Theater, Daisy Hontiveros-Avellana, made her last true-to-life stage exit on a Mother’s Day, May 12. She was 96. Those who missed her prime as a stage actress should turn … Continue reading →

POLL
Loading...
Poll Choice Options