The new amount supplements the British government’s previous donation as well as donations from the British public totaling £30 million (P2.1 billion).
The UK has also deployed a destroyer ship, HMS Daring, and a Royal Air Force C-17 transporter plane to the region. According to a report from Agence France-Presse, the UK was has also pledged 4×4 vehicles and forklift trucks.
Despite the steady support from both national and international communities, aid efforts have been slow—a fact reported by most international media covering the event. Malacañang’s Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras said last November 13 that a disaster of such magnitude required meticulous planning, which made such “difficult comments” understandable. He also said that while details needed to be ironed out, their efforts seemed to do well “so far”.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management’s (NDRRMC) 6 a.m. report also stated that the typhoon caused P10,339,290,061 in damage, including P1,250,108,600 in infrastructure and P9,089,181,461 in agriculture. In the same report, a total of 3,681 fatalities, 12,544 injured persons, and 1,186 still-missing persons was recorded. — Rie Takumi/BM, GMA News
