THE South Korean government recently donated 1,000 metric tons of rice to Catanduanes—one of the provinces hardest hit by supertyphoons in November 2020.
Counsellor Lee Sang-hui of the Embassy of South Korea turned over the donation to Administrator Judy L. Dansal at the National Food Authority’s (NFA) regional office in Batangas on December 18, 2020.
The embassy’s First Secretary Park Se-ah, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel V. de Mesa, Social Welfare and Development Director Emmanuel P. Privado, as well as several national and local government officials who included Governor Joseph C. Cua of Catanduanes, attended the ceremony.
The rice donation, scheduled for delivery to the island-province, was made under the Tier-3 program of the Asean Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve or APTERR—a regional cooperation among the region’s member-countries which includes South Korea, China and Japan. It aims to strengthen food security, alleviate poverty and eradicate malnourishment in the region.
On November 23, 2020, the South Korean government also donated nearly P10 million in humanitarian assistance to the families affected by Supertyphoons Rolly and Ulysses (international names Goni and Vamco, respectively). The check was personally handed over to Senator Richard J. Gordon, the Philippine Red Cross’s chairman and CEO.
Image credits: Embassy of South Korea-Manila/PNA