Recognizing the need to boost the country's campaign to alleviate the plight of disaster victims, the European Commission (EC) is providing the Philippines an additional 4 million Euro or roughly P226.7 million to aid the victims of typhoons "Ondoy" and "Pepeng" which ravaged Metro Manila and parts of Luzon late last year. The two typhoons caused the most devastating disaster that hit the country in decades, inundating the metropolis in roof-high floods and claiming the lives of over 700 Filipinos. The disaster also displaced some 10 million individuals, who lost their homes to damages incurred during heavy rains and floods. Early this year, even before victims of the typhoons could recover from their loss, the El Niño phenomenon struck, which caused a drought in most parts of the country, adversely affecting the country's food and energy supply. "Tens of thousands of Filipinos are still struggling to rebuild their lives after they lost their homes and livelihood in last year's floods. Recognizing the seriousness of the situation and the importance of continuing recovery efforts, the EU has been happy to provide additional humanitarian assistance to those most in need," European Union (EU) Ambassador Alistair MacDonald said. He added that the EC recognized the need to give Filipinos a boost in terms of restoring their livelihoods, as well as necessity of giving them emergency assistance to bounce back from their months-long ordeal. Since the calamity, the EC's Humanitarian Office (ECHO) has donated a total of 13 million Euro or P737 million to the country's drive to uplift the lives of the disaster victims through sustainable development efforts. In 2009, ECHO earmarked an initial 9 million Euro for emergency assistance such as immediate food assistance, shelter materials, medical supplies and other non-food items provided by its international partners such as the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), the World Food Program (WFP), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and World Health Organization (WHO), CARE, Save the Children UK, the Spanish Red Cross and MSF.
