South Korea donated 400 MT or equivalent to 10,000 bags milled rice to the Philippines under the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Tier 3 Program, which was held in the City of El Salvador, Misamis Oriental.
Ambassador Kim Inchul graced the Ceremonial Turnover of the rice stocks that will be distributed to 10,000 families in Region IX, X and XI who were affected by the flooding and landslide caused by the Shear Line and Low Pressure Area during the last quarter of year 2022.
“I am very much pleased to turn over the 400 MT of rice to the Philippines through the APTERR program, and hope that these sacks of rice will give the affected people renewed hope and strength” said Ambassador Kim, ensuring ROKs continued commitment and cooperation with the APTERR international organization. Under the APTERR Tier 3 Program, ROK is the biggest contributor of rice, with a total donation of 19,000 MT to the other country-members, including the Philippines with 2,750 MT rice, since 2017.
National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Roderico R. Bioco wholeheartedly accepted the rice donation and extended his gratitude to the Korean Government. “This gift of generosity is essential and truly immeasurable as the affected people move forward towards recovery and rehabilitation,” Bioco said.
The ceremony was also attended by General Manager Choomjet Karnjanakesorn from the APTERR Secretariat, Department of Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo F. Panganiban, DSWD Undersecretary Marco M. Bautista and Edgar Lignes, Mayor of El Salvador City, Misamis Oriental. During the ceremony, they personally handed over the rice sacks to the affected people from the provinces of Misamis Oriental and Misamis Occidental who were present during the turnover ceremony.
According to the Korean Embassy, humanitarian assistance is one of the top priority areas of its development cooperation. Korea has since contributed a total of 517 million dollars to deliver humanitarian assistance during emergencies and to enhance disaster preparedness of vulnerable communities including over two million dollars of relief assistance in the aftermath of Typhoon Odette and half a million doses of covid vaccines with 34 refrigerated trucks and four service vans for the Philippines’ COVID-19 response.
In line with this, Korea will host the 11th Meeting of the APTERR Council for the period 25-26 April 2023 in Seoul.