Presidential Assistant on Foreign Affairs and Chief of Presidential Protocol Robert E.A. Borje, on behalf of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, handed over 5,000 boxes of relief goods to the Filipino communities in Lebanon during a ceremonial turnover held at the Philippine Embassy in Beirut on 25 September 2020.
Philippine Embassy in Beirut Charge d’Affaires Ajeet-Victor Panemanglor received the relief goods in the presence of Filipino community leaders.
The relief operations was organized for overseas Filipinos impacted by the current economic crisis that was further aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent blasts in Lebanon.
As an act of goodwill, the Philippine government turned over, for the benefit of various Lebanese institutions, a total of 3,000 boxes of surgical masks, 27,500 face shields and 1,000 boxes of Vitamin C donated by the Lucio Tan Group of Companies. Mr. Rawad Chehayyeb, Assistant CEO for Logistics of Rafiq Hariri University Hospital, received a portion of the donations during the ceremonial turnover.
The other recipients are the Lebanese Red Cross, Beirut General Hospital, and the non-profit KAFA, to aid in their fight against COVID-19.
PAFA Borje thanked the Lebanese government and its people for taking care of Filipinos in the country and hoped that the modest contribution would bolster their efforts against the pandemic. “Thank you, Lebanon. Just as you stand in solidarity with Filipinos in your country, so too does the Philippines stand in solidarity with you,” PAFA Borje remarked.
The relief goods and donations were brought to Lebanon on board a DFA-chartered Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight PR8680.
The same plane also brought home 317 overseas Filipinos who requested repatriation assistance from the Philippine government.
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