Ishinomaki City Reciprocates Philippine Disaster Assistance in 2011, Donates JPY 10-Million to Yolanda Relief Effort.
Ishinomaki City, one of the Tōhoku region’s most devastated localities during the March 2011 earthquake, has donated JPY 10 million in support of relief efforts for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in the Visayas.
Ishinomaki City Vice Mayor Takeshi Sasano informed the Embassy of the donation during his call on Chargé d’Affaires and Consul General Marian Jocelyn R. Tirol-Ignacio.
Handing over a personal letter of condolence from City Mayor Hiroshi Kameyama addressed to President Benigno S. Aquino III, the Vice Mayor conveyed the sympathies of city officials and residents to the Filipino people for the tragic loss of lives and tremendous devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan last November.
Ishinomaki City Vice Mayor Takeshi Sasano hands over the City’s message of sympathy to CDA and Consul General Marian Jocelyn R. Tirol-Ignacio [photo: M. Akim]
Vice Mayor Sasano said the City and its people continue to recall with sincere appreciation the support and US$1-million donation extended by the Philippine Government to Ishinomaki City two years ago, as it struggled to recover from the Great East Japan Earthquake that struck on 11 March 2011. The temblor generated ten-meter high tsunamis that nearly wiped out the City’s coastal areas, leaving over three thousand fatalities and thousands more missing.
On 26 September that same year, President Aquino visited the city’s devastated coastal areas as part of his official visit to Japan. The President met with Mayor Kameyama to pledge the Philippines’ financial assistance and thereafter visited the ruins of Kadonowaki Elementary School to offer flowers and prayers for the students and all who perished in the calamity. A meeting with about 150 Filipino from the all over the affected areas in the Tōhoku region capped the President’s visit.
Vice Mayor Sasano reiterated the abiding solidarity of Ishinomaki City with the Philippines, as it undertakes recovery and reconstruction in typhoon-affected areas. CDA Tirol-Ignacio thanked the Vice Mayor for Ishinomaki City’s donation. “This kind gesture of Ishinomaki City is a testament to the strong kizuna [bonds of friendship] and bayanihan that exist between the Philippines and Japan”, said the CDA. “The Philippines is committed to the furtherance of our strong ties with Japan not just in disaster risk reduction and response, but in all fields”. END
