US envoy to visit Yolanda-hit town before attending Leyte Gulf Landing anniversary

(Updated 4 p.m.) United States Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg will visit Palo town in Leyte this Monday, before attending the 70th anniversary of the Leyte Gulf Landing.

The US Embassy in Manila said Goldberg will inaugurate rehabilitation projects in areas hit hard by super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) last year.

Palo was among the areas hit hardest by Yolanda, which left more than 6,000 dead after pounding the Visayas last November.

An initial schedule showed Goldberg is to go to Barangay Poblacion to turn over 36 sari-sari stores reconstructed and restocked via a program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble.

The program had sought to rehabilitate nearly 1,000 sari-sari stores in Yolanda-hit areas.

Goldberg will also announce the establishment of the Micro Enterprise Disaster Assistance Fund for Resiliency, in partnership with Philippine Business for Social Progress.

The P176-million ($4 million) credit facility will allow Yolanda-affected traders to establish or expand their micro enterprises.

After the event at Palo, Goldberg will then proceed to the Leyte Landing Memorial for the 70th Leyte Gulf Landing anniversary.

Kapuso village

Also in Palo, a Kapuso Village will rise, with 200 housing units for residents affected by Yolanda.

GMA Network, through its corporate foundation, is among those who really stayed and delivered on the promise to help rebuild Leyte. — Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News