Hong Kong disaster relief effort begins after Philippine typhoon

Aid requests to the typhoon-struck Philippines will be processed according to “procedure and humanitarian policy”, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said on Monday.

This comes just a week after he warned Manila of unspecified sanctions if they failed to address the demands of the families of eight Hongkongers killed and seven injured in the 2010 bus hostage incident in Manila.

Leung said the government had been in contact with Manila and would “follow procedure and humanitarian policy” in handling requests by relief agencies’ for aid to Philippine typhoon victims.

Asked about the sanctions, Leung said the Philippine government had not requested an extension on the one-month deadline after which “necessary actions” would be taken unless “substantial progress” was made.

Meanwhile, People Power lawmaker Albert Chan Wai-yip, who tabled a private member bill in the Legislative Council earlier this month to ban Filipinos from working in the city, said on Monday he would shelve the bill “temporarily” until rescue efforts in the country were stabilised.

The government will seek urgent approval of the Legislative Council’s finance committee this Friday to inject an additional HK$40 million into the Disaster Relief Fund.

The fund’s balance currently stands at HK$9 million, which is unlikely to be sufficient to meet the funding requirements of the relief organisations, a government spokesman said on Monday.