EU Provides P10.9 Million Aid to Philippine Red Cross for Flood Victims

The European Union (EU) on Friday announced €150,000 or around P10.9 million in humanitarian funding, which will support the Philippine Red Cross in providing assistance to families affected by the recent floods. According to the EU, the funding will help provide household items such as sleeping kits, water containers, and hygiene items, as well as hot meals and drinking water to some 32,000 individuals in the hardest-hit areas, including the Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, and Metro Manila. Medical consultations, medicines, health information, and mental health support will also be provided, along with hygiene activities and disease monitoring to help prevent water-borne and vector-borne diseases. “The funding is part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC),” the EU said in a statement. “It comes in addition to the over €2 million already allocated to humanitarian partners in the Philippines at the start of 2026,” it added. Over 400 areas in the Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and the National Capital Region (NCR) were flooded last month due to the rains brought by the Southwest Monsoon (Habagat). The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has also announced close to P8 billion in emergency loans available for members and pensioners affected by the recent typhoons. –NB, GMA News