MANILA: The Philippines will need nearly $3bn to rebuild parts of the country destroyed by the deadliest typhoon in its history, the presidential palace said yesterday.
President Benigno Aquino told reporters in Tokyo late on Friday that scores of towns and cities across the central islands that were devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan needed national government help to clean up debris and restore damaged infrastructure.
“The task is really daunting is it not? That’s why we are saying it will take about 130 billion pesos ($2.94bn) to put everybody in at least a better situation than where they were,” he said according to a transcript released by Malacanang palace.
The official death toll stood at 6,033 yesterday, with the authorities still looking for 1,779 people listed as missing.
About a million houses were destroyed, leaving four million people homeless, according to the government’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Aquino was speaking on the sidelines of a summit between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the palace said.
AFP
