DSWD-7 Receives 800MT of Rice from PRC

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-7) receives 800 metric tons of rice from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) through the efforts of the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR).

“At the onset, I would like to express my heartfelt condolence and deepest sympathy to the Government of the Philippines and to the people of the Philippines for the devastating effect of Typhoon Yolanda or Haiyan,” said Nongnoch Deetae, General Manager of APTERR, during the ceremonial turn-over held at the National Food Authority Compound, North Reclamation Area, Cebu City.

“Amidst the darkness and typhoons there is still a radiant light by having the ASEAN country emergency rice reserve as a permanent mechanism to respond and assist in emergency situation as well as for humanitarian purposes,” Deetae said.

After Yolanda hit the country, the National Food Authority (NFA) requested rice assistance from APTERR secretariat based in Thailand.

“We quickly made an appeal to the APTERR member countries for voluntary contribution and we received positive feedback from them,” she added.

Aside from the 800 metric tons of rice from China, other countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Japan will also send their rice donations.

DSWD-7 Regional Director Mercedita Jabagat extends her gratitude to the Chinese government and assured that said donation will reach the disaster affected families in Central Visayas.

The 10,000 rice bags will be given to the province of Bohol and the remaining 6,000 will be donated to Cebu.

APTERR is a regional cooperation standing on humanitarian ground with professional and business operation. The organization was established under the purview of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus three countries like People’s Republic of China, Japan and Republic of Korea, to deliver food security in an emergency caused by temporary and large scale calamity.