The United States has extended support to the Philippine government to aid victims of recent calamities.
The US also condoled with the families and loved ones of those who perished during the disasters.
“Let me offer our condolences and thoughts and prayers to all those who have been disadvantaged by six significant storms that have taken place in a very short period of time,” US Defense Secretary of State Lloyd Austin III said during yesterday’s courtesy call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Malacañang.
Austin said that he authorized US troops to assist the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in providing aid to typhoon-hit communities.
The US had secured an additional $1 million in urgent humanitarian aid, which will complement the efforts of USAID and the World Food Program, he also noted.
“That’s in addition to the nearly 100,000 pounds of supplies that we delivered after Typhoon Julian.”
Highlighting the strong alliance between the Philippine and the US, Austin reaffirmed his country’s commitment to supporting Filipinos in times of crisis.
For his part, Marcos Jr. thanked the US official for visiting the Philippines despite challenging weather conditions.
He also underscored the importance of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites in disaster response.
“Before, when we know that the storm is coming, we prepositioned as much as many assets, material as we can as close as possible, so as not to damage the actual resources that we have. And the EDCA sites have become the staging area because right after the storm, many areas can only be reached by helicopter,” according to the President.
“And many roads closed because of landslides. And therefore, even the main capital of provinces can only be reached by aircraft. So, we have used to a great extent the EDCA sites. I just like to remind everyone on the wisdom behind that and how it has become so extremely useful in the face of these effects of climate change,” he added.
Over the past week, the Philippines was battered by a series of typhoons—Kristine, Leon, Marce, Nika, Ofel, and Pepito—that brought heavy rains and heavy flooding to many regions.IMT
