The Taiwanese government has donated US$ 400,000 equivalent to Php 22.9 million as disaster relief for provinces severely hit by Severe Tropical Storm Paeng last October.

Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines (TECO) Representative Peiyung Hsu handed the donation to Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) Chairman Silvestre Bello III during a turn-over ceremony held Friday, Nov. 11.

“As the closest neighbor of the Philippines, the people of Taiwan really sympathize with the victims worst affected by the Tropical Storm Paeng (Nalgae),“ TECO said in a statement.

The agency said Hsu expressed his condolences and sympathies to Paeng-victims and their kin.

He also hoped for the immediate rehabilitation of the battered areas in order for the victims to return to their normal lives.

The number of fatalities due to Paeng has climbed to 160, according to the situational report from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) as of Nov. 12.

About 1,362,263 families or 5,462,306 individuals were affected.

While a total of 57,351 houses were reportedly damaged in Regions 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Caraga, BARMM, and CAR.