Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13) — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it is ready to help Filipinos affected by the Maui wildfires.
“There are less than two thousand Filipino citizens in Maui. In case any of these Filipino citizens require medical or financial assistance funding, we at DFA are ready to authorize the Consulate to distribute the funds,” DFA Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega said on Sunday.
De Vega said no repatriation is expected as those affected are permanent residents of Hawaii.We are just verifying that there are no Filipino casualties or among (those) missing,” he added.In an interview with CNN Philippines, Kit Zulueta Furukawa, director of the Maui Filipino Chamber of Commerce, said there are no official reports on how many Filipinos were affected by the wildfires.She added that Filipinos are the second largest ethnic group in the island. Furukawa said their group has established a bayanihan fund for economic recovery efforts after the fire.
