Thailand donates 5,000 MT of rice for Yolanda areas

MANILA, Philippines – Nearly 6 months after the first delivery of relief goods reached the towns and cities devastated by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), the Philippine government formally received a donation of 5,000 metric tons (MT) of rice from the government of Thailand.

The rice will be distributed to the islands of Samar and Leyte, areas hardest hit by the devastating typhoon.

The donation was sourced through the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR)’s Tier 3 program, through which member-countries in dire need of rice can ask for the release of stockpiled reserves.

The National Food Authority wrote the request to the APTERR Secretariat on November 11, 2013. The rice was delivered to the Port of Cebu in 2 batches – 3,000 MT on March 28 and 2,000 MT on April 4.

Based on APTERR and the NFA’s agreement, half of the donation will be distributed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to Samar, while the other half will go to Leyte.

The DSWD will be responsible for the distribution of rice, which is expected to be completed by July.

APTERR is composed of all 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) as well as China, Japan and Korea. – Rappler.com