Indonesia delivers $2m in aid to Philippines

Indonesia dispatched on Wednesday relief flights to the Philippines loaded with logistics and necessities for the Philippine people affected by the recent super typhoon Haiyan. Spokesperson for Indonesia's Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said that the aid would depart for the Philippines in three sorties on Wednesday on three C-130 Hercules cargo planes from the capital city's Halim Perdanakusumah airport. "As ASEAN countries solidarity and a country that similarly to have been seeing frequent devastating disasters and a call of humanity, we deliver this relief aid to the Philippines," Sutopo said. The relief flights would continue on Thursday with three more sorties, expected to deliver a total of 75 tons of goods including blankets, tents, instant food, nutritious supplements, power generators and medical supplies. All of those relief aids were provided by the BNPB, the health and social ministries. "In total Indonesia provides 2 million U.S. dollars of relief aids consisting of 1 million U.S. dollars channeled through bank and another 1 million U.S. dollars formed in logistics and supplies," Sutopo told Xinhua by phone. He added that Indonesia's relief aid was officially handed over by Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Public Welfare Affairs Agung Laksono on Tuesday to the Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Maria Rosario Aguinaldo. Sutopo said that the initial sorties conducted on Wednesday would transport half of logistics aids to the Philippines that consist of generator sets, medical supplies, food and blankets. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has issued an order to send the relief aids to the Philippines on Sunday in the wake of typhoon Haiyan that struck the country hardly. The catastrophic disaster was feared to have claimed more than 10,000 lives. The UN said the disaster generated by the strongest typhoon recorded in modern history may affect 10 million people in the Philippines.