Cebu gets aid from Taiwan

CEBU, Philippines —  Taiwan donated building materials to Cebu province, which was hit hard by typhoon Odette (Rai) last December 16.

It donated two container vans of plywood to the province for residents who lost their homes to the typhoon following the visit of Ambassador Peiyung Hsu, Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines, in Cebu.

He paid a courtesy call on Governor Gwendolyn Garcia on February 9 at the Capitol.

The governor shared the provincial government’s continuing rehabilitation efforts after Typhoon Odette devastated parts of Cebu Island.

The governor also briefed the ambassador and his staff on the dynamics of the "Dasig (Rise again) Sugbo” assistance program to help the typhoon survivors.

In a Facebook post of Sugbo News, Capitol's media arm, Ambassador Hsu said they wanted to know how best they could help Cebu, adding that they brought 14 container vans loaded with building materials.

The Taiwanese envoy said two container vans are for Cebu Province, while the rest will be divided among other Odette-affected areas in the country like Bohol, Siargao Island and Negros.

Taiwan also donated the other day 20 container vans of rice, milk, tents, galvanized iron, among others, to Surigao for residents of Siargao who were also affected by the typhoon. The Nature Kids for Siargao Association, Inc. is the main beneficiary in Siargao.

The shipment for Surigao was transported from Taiwan via Cebu, which has an international port.

Bureau of Customs-Cebu district collector Charlito Martin Mendoza said the shipment was released under the provisional goods declaration pending issuance of the tax exemption endorsement from the Department of Finance.

The turnover was witnessed by Mendoza, Department of Social Welfare and Development-7 Director Rebecca Geamala, Cebu-Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce Director Jeff Go, and Alin Customs Brokerage owner Israel Alin.

Alin said he is touched that other countries like Taiwan extended their helping hands by giving aid to Filipinos who were greatly affected by typhoon Odette.

In return, Alin said he is offering his services for free such as extracting the goods from the 20 container vans to the domestic vessel and trucking.

"Libre lang ang akong serbisyo medyo dako dako gyud ang bayranan kung magpabayad ko. Pero ang Taiwan nitabang gani natong mga Pilipino, so isip tabang, libre lang ang akong services,” said Alin.

It can be recalled that BOC-Subport of Mactan cleared over the holidays, December 25 and 26, approximately 10 tons of donated relief goods from Taiwan intended for distribution to the victims of Typhoon Odette.

Arriving in C-130 planes, the relief goods landed in Mactan-Benito Ebuen Airbase in two batches and were processed through the Subport’s One-Stop-Shop to ensure their expeditious release.

The relief consignment contained bottled water, instant noodles, canned tuna, biscuits, food rations, camping tents, and water filters.

Ambassador  Hsu personally led the turnover of the relief goods to the Department of Social Welfare and Development for distribution to the affected communities in Cebu, Bohol, and other areas in the Visayas.

BOC under the leadership of Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero, guarantees the swift release of relief consignments to facilitate the immediate recovery of the areas hit by the said typhoon. — KQD (FREEMAN)