SHORTLY after the devastating onslaught of Typhoon Ompong (international code name Mangkhut), Switzerland immediately lent its support to the emergency response and recovery efforts of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC).
This transpired as the European country offered humanitarian assistance, then expressed its most sincere condolences and sympathies to the government of the Philippines, especially to the Filipino people, for the loss of lives and the severe damages.
The Swiss Confederation and the Swiss Red Cross contributed approximately P23 million (CHF 415,000) to the emergency appeal of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), which is supportive of the PRC for its ongoing emergency response and recovery phase—particularly, to cover urgent basic needs, with a focus on water, sanitation and hygiene.
In a meeting at its headquarters, PRC Chairman and CEO Sen. Richard J. Gordon and Ambassador Andrea Reichlin discussed the ongoing response and further cooperation opportunities.
Reichlin extended Switzerland’s sympathies to those affected, and acknowledged the Philippines’s and PRC’s widespread efforts in disaster-risk reduction and preparedness, as well as the latter’s massive response before, during and after the disaster.