|
The Philippines made a humble pledge to give $100,000 in cash and
another $250,000 in kind, such as medicines, relief goods and the
cost of sending a 30-man medical team, to Yangon, Myanmar.
The plane and the medical team arrived in Yangon
on May 26 after Senator Richard Gordon a the six-man Philippine
delegation that attended the Associated of Southeast Asian
Nations-United Nations International Pledging Conference in Yangon,
Myanmar on May 25, 2008.
Fifty-one countries and 22 international
organizations participated in the conference, which generated about
$30 million in new pledges, according to initial estimates of the
UN. The amount is in addition to the pledges of about $100 million
in bilateral and multilateral contributions that the UN raised.
The conference was held to mobilize greater
international assistance for Myanmar in the aftermath of Cyclone
Nargis that devastated and flooded Southern Myanmar. The cyclone
struck the country from May 2 to 3.
About 78,000 people were confirmed dead and
19,000 injured in this calamity, with around 56,000 still
unaccounted for. Total damages to agriculture, infrastructure,
transportation, communication and the industrial sectors have
reached $10.67 billion.
During the conference, Myanmar also officially
announced that it would welcome any assistance and aid from any
country or organization, provided there are no political undertones.
Gordon emphasized the need to scale-up the
relief operations and get valuable expertise from other Asean
governments and Asean Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies, which could
serve as a conduit to other international Red Cross Societies’
resources and expertise.
-- Katrice R. Jalbuena
|
