17 December 2020, Seoul. The Philippine Embassy in Seoul and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), in light of the recent increase in the number of daily COVID-19 cases in the country, once again distributed emergency relief packages to our kababayans whose livelihood have been adversely affected by the prolonged pandemic in South Korea.

he Embassy, with the assistance of the Seoul Filipino Catholic Community (SFCC), the Filipino-International Seventh-day Adventist Church in Korea (FILSDAK), and the Waegwan Filipino Community, distributed emergency relief packages containing food items, face masks, and hand sanitizers to 300 Filipinos who have lost their jobs or had their work hours reduced due to the stringent anti-virus measures that have been in place across the country since March.

Charge d'a?Affaires, a.i. Christian L. De Jesus emphasized that the distribution of the emergency relief packages is a continuation of the work of the Embassy, and is consistent with the Embassy's mandate to assist distressed Filipinos overseas. CDA De Jesus also said that the Embassy will continue to do its utmost in answering the calls for assistance and relief of our kababayans in South Korea. "We recognize the far-reaching impact of the pandemic, particularly on the livelihood of our numerous kababayans. We hope that through the emergency relief packages, we can somehow alleviate the hardships that you are facing in the midst of this pandemic," he said.

The Filipino members of the community who received the emergency relief packages expressed their gratitude to the Embassy. "God bless you for always taking care of our kababayans here," said Ms. Gloria Lapore, one of the members of SFCC.

The Philippine Embassy in Seoul, under the one-country team approach of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Labor and Employment and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, has been distributing food packages and hygiene kits to over 5,000 Filipino members of the community since the start of the pandemic, in cooperation with the Filipino community leaders. END