USAID allots $2 million for storm victims

MANILA, Philippines - The US Agency for International Development (USAID) is granting another $2 million more grants to international and non-government organizations involved in the emergency humanitarian assistance to victims of recent floods and landslides in Central and Northern Luzon.

In an emailed statement, US embassy spokesperson Rebecca Thompson quoted Charge d’ Affaires Leslie Bassett as saying the $2 million will come from USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) in the wake of storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng.”

The new assistance is in addition to $1.9 million in grants and $400,000 in non-food goods donated by USAID/OFDA in response to the crisis caused by Ondoy.

The US military continues to provide logistical support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to help deliver relief goods to remote communities affected by flooding in Northern Luzon, the embassy said. – Ding Cervantes