Thai flood victims receive donation from Filipinos

Flood victims in Thailand's northeast region received a 25,000-baht (P35,000) donation from Filipinos who live in the kingdom, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)said Tuesday. It was the Filipino Community Organizing Committee (FCOC) who helped facilitate the donation in a turnover ceremony, which the Philippine embassy in Thailand and the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs arranged on Feb. 8, the DFA said. "Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Maria Teresa Taguiang and First Secretary and Consul General Edgar Badajos accompanied the FCOC representatives to the MFA. Thai Foreign Affairs Vice Minister Sruangsan Chamornchai received the donation on behalf of the flood victims," the DFA said in a news release on its website. FCOC were Association of Filipinos in Thailand (AFT) President Reynaldo Asuncion and AFT members Edith Sethananda, Cora Bamrungcheep, and Cely Fookiat. Phil-Thai Business Club representative Ruby Hoskin and Association of Cordillerans in Thailand representative Grace Balacdao were also at the ceremony. The donation is the Filipino community’s way of thanking the Royal Thai government and the people of Thailand for welcoming them into the Thai society and for its continued hospitality, Asuncion said. The money came from proceeds of the Filipino community Christmas party at the Philippine embassy grounds last December. "For his part, Vice Minister Chamornchai assured the FCOC that the donation will be utilized for its intended beneficiaries," the DFA said. The FCOC is the umbrella group of Filipino community organizations in Thailand. Severe floods hit Thailand’s northeastern region last October. Considered the worst in decades in Thailand’s rural northeast, the floods killed several people and damaged homes, businesses, and swathes of farmland. Rehabilitation of the areas that were flooded is on going, according to the DFA. — VS, GMA News