thoughts for the Philippines 2013 and 2014

Year two thousand and thirteen  has certainly brought a roller coaster ride to our nation.

We had our highs-

September 7 – Mutya Johanna Datul was crowned Miss Supranational 2013, the first Asian to win the title.

September 28 – Miss Philippines Megan Young was crowned Miss World 2013, the first Filipina to win the title.

November 9 – Miss Philippines Ariella Arida won third runner-up in the Miss Universe 2013 .

November 24 – Manny Pacquiao won a 12-round unanimous decision WBO international welterweight title against the Mexican-American Brandon Rios for first win in 2 years.

1471877_675645019133444_1314800084_nDecember 17 – Miss Philippines Bea Rose Santiago won Miss International 2013 .

December 31- Miss Philippines Angeli Dionne Gomez won Miss Tourism International 2013 .

And we had our lows too many to mention; mostly about our government, which is kinda difficult to write about.

But the lowest of all was the life changing disaster for thousands of our people, dated November 7, 2013; which caused havoc in the provinces of Leyte, Samar and Cebu –  the super typhoon Haiyan, locally know as Yolanda.

Based on the reports of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Yolanda killed 6,111 people and left 1,779 others missing, truly the deadliest disaster ever encountered in the Philippine history.

I thought being a third world country somehow alienates us from people across the globe. But I was wrong.

Immeasurable help were sent by nations from all over the world

  • AUSTRALIA – US$10 million package
  • BELGIUM – medical and search and rescue personnel
  • CANADA – C$5 million
  • CHILE – humanitarian aid
  • DENMARK – KR 10 million
  • EUROPEAN UNION – EUR 3 million
  • GERMANY – 23 tons of relief goods
  • HUNGARY – search and rescue personnel and rapid response team
  • INDONESIA – in-kind donations
  • ISRAEL- team of medical, trauma and relief professionals
  • JAPAN – emergency relief medical team
  • MALAYSIA – medical and search and rescue teams
  • THE NETHERLANDS – undisclosed financial aid
  • NEW ZEALAND – NZ $2.15 million
  • NORWAY – KR 20 million
  • RUSSIA – rapid response team, rescue workers and an airmobile hospital
  • SAUDI ARABIA through Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud – US$100,000
  • SINGAPORE – $50,000
  • SPAIN – in-kind donations
  • SWEDEN- emergency communications equipment
  • TAIWAN – $200,000
  • TURKEY – medics, rapid response team, search and rescue personnel
  • UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – Dhs 36 million
  • UNITED KINGDOM – £6 million and $9.6 million worth of emergency support package
  • UNITED NATIONS Children’s Fund – $1.3 million worth of supplies
  • UNITED STATES – initial $100,000 for water and sanitation; Troops, emergency respondents, transportation and equipment
  • VATICAN – $150,000

With all these support, together with the thoughts and prayers for our country, I can not thank you enough.

We hope to get back on our feet soon, a little wiser and a little stronger, as we regain the faith that we once lost.

What lies beyond year 2014, we don’t know, but I hope that we have learned our lesson well, smarter enough to handle these lows better, if ever it happened again.

 

source of info:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/boxing/2013/11/24/manny-pacquiao-wins-first-fight-in-2-years-beats-rios/3690365/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_in_the_Philippines

image source:

facebook images via Ms. Toots Nicolas (to whoever did the illustration, thank you)

 

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