Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 16) — President Rodrigo Duterte expressed his condolences to the people of Haiti after the 7.2-magnitude earthquake which recently struck the Caribbean nation, Malacañang said Monday.
“On behalf of the Filipino nation, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte extends his sincere condolences to the government and to the people of Haiti for the tragedy and devastation caused by the strong earthquake that struck Haiti,” said his spokesman Harry Roque during his regular briefing.
The death toll from the earthquake, which hit Haiti on Saturday, has already breached 1,200 according to CNN.
Citing the Foreign Affairs Department’s initial report, Roque said no Filipino was affected by the quake.
“Ang sentro ng lindol ay hindi po sa Port-au-Prince, ang kapitolyo ng Haiti kung saan naroon ang marami sa ating kababayan,” he explained.
[Translation: The earthquake’s epicenter wasn’t in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, where most of our countrymen are staying.]
The earthquake’s epicenter was about 12 kilometers northeast of Saint-Louis-du-Sud in the southwest part of Haiti, CNN reported.
This is not the first time Haiti made the news because of a strong quake. A 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked the nation in 2010, claiming the lives of at least 220,000 people.
