Taiwan donates $200,000 to aid Abra quake victims

Taiwan on Wednesday donated $200,000 (over P11 million) to the Philippines in support of the country’s disaster relief operations following the strong earthquake that struck parts of northern Luzon last month.

Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines (TECO) Representative Peiyung Hsu turned over the donation at a hand-over ceremony to Manila Economic and Cultural Office Chairperson Silvestre Bello III. They were joined by Abra Governor Dominic B. Valera.

Hsu expressed sympathy for the quake victims and condoled with the families of those who died.

“Taiwan stands by the Philippines and sincerely hopes that the damaged homes will be soon restored and the victims return to their normal lives as early as possible,” he said in a statement.

“Taiwan will continue to collaborate with the Philippines on disaster prevention and climate resilience,” he added.

The magnitude 7 quake with its epicenter in Abra jolted the region on July 27.

Earlier, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said the earthquake’s total damage to infrastructure has reached over P1.8 billion.

The reported death toll from the calamity remained at 11 while the number of injured individuals climbed to 615, it added. — Sundy Locus/BM, GMA News