Emergency Grant Aid to the Philippines for Torrential Rain Disaster

December 9, 2004

On December 8, the Government of Japan decided to extend emergency grant aid of approximately US$350,000 to the Government of the Republic of the Philippines with the aim of providing food aid to the people afflicted by the torrential rain.
On December 9, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Ryuichiro Yamazaki conveyed this information to Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and Secretary Soliman expressed her gratitude for the assistance.
In the Philippines, torrential rain caused by typhoons and tropical low pressure fell mainly in the Quezon Province in the eastern part of Luzon Island since November 20, resulting in 532 deaths, 390 missings and 86,399 refugees (as of December 5).
People from a wide range of areas in the Philippines are still forced to take refuge and have to put up with various inconveniences. The Government of the Philippines has made self-help efforts for the restoration of the areas affected by the disaster and at the same time requested emergency aid from the international community.
Japan has decided to provide emergency grant aid from the perspective of providing humanitarian assistance to the people afflicted by this disaster as well as its friendly relations with the Philippines.
On December 3, prior to this decision, Japan had extended emergency assistance in kind (blankets, tents, electric generators, etc.) of approximately 28 million yen to the Government of the Philippines.