House Speaker Martin Romualdez turned over US$ 100,000 for the earthquake victims in Turkiye.
Turkish Ambassador to the Philippines Niyazi Evren Akyol received the financial assistance on Monday, February 13, during a ceremony at the Speaker's Office at the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City.
The financial aid came from the Speaker’s Disaster Relief and Rehabilitation Initiative launched during the 59th birthday celebration of Romualdez on November 14.
Akyol thanked the Philippine government for the assistance.
The ambassador noted that the Philippines deployed an 82-man search and rescue team within 48 hours after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake devastated Turkiye.
"You know in an event like this, it’s very good to know you have your friends on your side," Akyol said.
"And we have on the ground almost 10,400 rescue workers, and of course, the Philippines is one of the major contributors," he added.
Akyol particularly expressed his gratitude to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for his swift instruction for Philippine authorities to get into action.
Meanwhile, Romualdez recalled that Turkiye extended aid after Super Typhoon Yolanda hit Leyte and parts of Eastern Samar in 2013.
"The Filipino people have benefitted so much from the compassion of Turkish volunteers," the House Speaker said.
"We will be here with you as Turkey was always with us in Haiyan – Yolanda - and all the other disasters," he assured.
As of Monday, February 13, at least 33,000 individuals have perished in Turkiye and Syria due to the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit the two countries
