Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Undersecretary Diana Rose Cajipe of the Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) was among government officials who witnessed the ceremonial turnover of rice donation from the Republic of Korea on Monday (February 3) at the Poblacion Municipal Hall in Laurel, Batangas.

Ambassador of South Korea to the Philippines Lee Sang-hwa and ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Secretariat General Manager Choomjet Karnjanakesorn officially turned over the 4,000 metric tons or 100,000 sacks containing 40-kilos of rice each, intended for families severely-affected by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine.

The donation was coursed through the APTERR Tier 3 program that provides emergency rice assistance to member-countries facing critical calamities. South Korea is among the non-ASEAN countries making up this rice bank cooperation.

Also present in the ceremony to receive the donations on behalf of the Philippine Government were Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr.; National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Larry Lacson and Mayor Lyndon Bruce of Laurel, Batangas. (LSJ)