PNoy Thanks Prime Minister Lee for Singapore’s Assistance to Victims of Typhoon ‘Yolanda’

Singapore — President Benigno S. Aquino III thanked Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for the assistance his government has extended to the Philippines in aid of the victims of super typhoon ‘Yolanda.’

Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda conveyed this on Tuesday following a courtesy call paid by President Aquino on his Singaporean host at the Istana main building immediately upon his arrival here for a two-day working visit.

“We started off with the President mentioning and thanking Singapore for its assistance in Typhoon Yolanda, and the President laid out what we’re doing, what we have been doing with respect to the rehabilitation efforts on Typhoon Yolanda. Also, he mentioned some efforts that we’re doing in Tacloban City,” Lacierda told Manila-based reporters in a press briefing.

Among the things mentioned by President Aquino to his Singaporean counterpart is the government’s plan to move the country’s primary gateway to Eastern Visayas, the Tacloban City airport, to another location, he said.

“The President mentioned that we’re moving the airport from Tacloban City to a safer place, and the Prime Minister was just saying that, ‘Well, you’ve got your work cut out for the next two years,’” Lacierda said.

The Tacloban City airport was among the major infrastructure heavily damaged by Typhoon ‘Yolanda’ when it made landfall in November 2013, hampering government relief efforts in the area at the time.

Lacierda said President Aquino also made Prime Minister Lee know about his government’s commitment to finish by 2015 the reconstruction of the housing units for the victims.

Singapore was one of the many countries worldwide that sent immediate help to the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda. It deployed its C-130 to assist in the transportation of relief supplies to Tacloban.

The Singaporean government and its citizens have also donated a total of P12 million in humanitarian aid. PND (hdc)

Photo above: Singapore – President Benigno S. Aquino III greets Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during the Courtesy Call at the West Drawing Room of the Istana Main Building for his Working Visit to the Republic of Singapore on Tuesday (November 18, 2014). Singapore is the Philippines’ 4th largest trade partner in 2013, the 4th largest export market as of January 2014 and has become the Philippines’ 7th largest source of visitors, with a total of 148,215 Singaporean tourists arriving in the Philippines in 2012. In comparison, the Philippines is one of Singapore’s top source of tourist arrivals, with 487,254 Filipino tourists arriving in Singapore between January and September 2012. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Philippines-Singapore Action Plan (PSAP) was signed in 1998, provides a consolidated framework for strengthened bilateral cooperation, including provisions on economic cooperation, information technology, capital market development, education, culture, and people-to-people exchanges, among others. (Photo by Ryan Lim / Malacañang Photo Bureau)