President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday said the Philippines will provide financial and in-kind aid to Syria as the West Asian state and Turkey continue to recover from the devastating impact of a 7.8 earthquake last month.
Citing the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said the country would be sending $200,000 cash donation to Syria.
This will be on top of the in-kind relief assistance, which the country will send to the Syrian Arab Republic.
“Under President Marcos’s directive, the DFA said relevant government agencies in the Philippines will be closely coordinating with each other to implement these humanitarian commitments to the Syrian government,” PCO said.
DFA said the initiative of the President showed the country is ready to do its role as a member of the international community in helping calamity-stricken states.
“The Philippines, as a member of the international community of nations, steadfastly supports the united global effort to assist the victims of the February 06 earthquake in Turkiye and Syria,” the DFA said in a statement.
According to reports, over 50,000 people died from the earthquake, which hit Turkey and Syria on February 6.
The country has already deployed an 82-man Philippine Inter-Agency Humanitarian Contingent to provide medical aid and assist in rescue and retrieval operations in quake-affected communities there.