The Korean government donated on Tuesday 10,000 bags (approximately 400 metric tons) of rice to sustain recovery efforts in Mindanao following the flash floods and landslides that struck the region in December 2022.

Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Kim In-Chul led the ceremonial turnover of 10,000 bags milled rice under the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Tier 3 Program.

The rice will be distributed to 10,000 families in Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, and Davao — the hardest hit regions when a shear line and low pressure area dumped rains and triggered flash floods in the last quarter of 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,” Kim said during the turnover in El Salvador town, Misamis Oriental province.

The envoy also reiterated Seoul’s continued commitment to the APTERR initiative, under tier 3 of which South Korea is the biggest rice contributor with a total donation of 19,000 MT to the other country-members.

Since 2017, the Philippines has received 2,750 MT rice from Korea under the program.

National Food Authority Administrator Roderico Bioco, who was present at the ceremony, extended the Philippine government’s gratitude describing the donation as an “immeasurable” gift to the affected population as they move towards recovery and rehabilitation.

The Korean Embassy, meanwhile, emphasized that humanitarian assistance continues to be a top priority area of its development cooperation with the Philippines.

To date, South Korea has contributed a total of USD517 million to deliver humanitarian assistance during emergencies and to enhance disaster preparedness of vulnerable communities in the country.

This aid includes over USD2 million worth of relief assistance in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Odette (Rai) and the procurement of 500,000 doses of coronavirus disease 2019 and 34 refrigerated trucks and four service vans for Manila’s pandemic response. (PNA)