MANILA, Philippines –
The United States Embassy in Manila commends the Government of the Philippines
on its extensive preparations leading up to Typhoon Ruby/Hagupit and its
successful response in the wake of the storm. The United States also offers its
condolences for the lives that were lost during the storm. Our thoughts and
prayers are with the families of the victims.
In close coordination with the Government of the Philippines, the United
States government, through the United States Agency for International
Development’s Office for Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA), will provide aid for
emergency humanitarian assistance. This assistance totals $750,000 (PHP
33,408,750).
Building on a foundation of close bilateral coordination and cooperation
with the Government of the Philippines, the U.S. Embassy in Manila helped track
the typhoon before it made landfall, worked under the direction of our treaty
ally in monitoring the storm’s trajectory and planning and preparing to respond
to the storm’s aftermath as needed.
Almost immediately following the storm’s first landfall, United States
Agency for International Development (USAID), and U.S. Pacific Command
assessment teams were available to augment U.S. Embassy Manila’s capabilities
to monitor the storm’s impact. These teams also coordinated with government
agencies and humanitarian organizations an emergency response on the ground. As
President Obama stated last year in the wake of Super Typhoon Yolanda, “[W]hen
our friends are in trouble, America helps.”
The successful response to Ruby featured close cooperation between
representatives from USAID, the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, and
the U.S. military, who worked with the Philippine government and the Armed
Forces of the Philippines to conduct initial assessments of conditions and needs
in the hardest hit areas. U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg stated that this
coordination “clearly showed that the repeated humanitarian and disaster
assistance training and exercises between our two countries is an important part
of our relationship.”
The U.S government, through USAID, continues to work closely with the
Government of the Philippines and communities in hazard-prone areas to better
prepare for and respond to the effects of disasters. In Fiscal Year 2014,
USAID/OFDA provided approximately $9.5 million (PHP 423,177,500) for disaster
risk reduction programs in the Philippines that build community resilience and
further strengthen national disaster management capacity. This includes $500,000
(PHP 22,272,500) in FY 2014 funding to the U.N. World Food Program to provide
logistical support to the GPH’s Department of Social Welfare and Development to
quickly deliver relief supplies to affected families during disasters such as
Typhoon Ruby.