Manila Economic and Cultural Office | PHOTO: Official website of MECO / meco.org.tw
MANILA, Philippines — About 20,000 sacks of rice that Taiwan donated to communities affected by the recent calamities have been turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), according to the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO).
In a statement on Sunday, MECO chairman Silvestre H. Bello III said he accepted last week the donation from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) headed by Wallace Minn-Gan Chow, the Taiwan representative to the Philippines.
“The rice stocks, which arrived in the Port of Manila late last month, consisted half of the 2,000-metric ton rice donation of Taiwan made through the TECO,” the office said.
READ: Over 123,000 Filipinos benefit from Taiwan wage hike — Meco chief
Belo expressed his gratitude to TECO and said the donated rice will provide relief to poor Filipino households and families affected by last year’s calamities.
He added that his office already identified the beneficiaries. Citing Chow, Belo said the other half of the total donation of 40,000 sacks of rice will arrive in the country soon.