Photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. expressed his gratitude to the UAE which he also described as a “true model of generosity & humanitarian assistance” on Thursday morning in the National Capital Region of Metro Manila.

Occasion was the symbolic turn-over ceremony of seven metric tons of anti-Novel Coronavirus (COVID19) personal protective equipment (PPEs) and medical supplies by the UAE to the Philippines, courtesy of UAE Ambassador to the Philippines Hamad Saeed Hamad Obaid Alzaabi.

The ceremonies were held at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) headquarters in Pasay City, Metro Manila. In attendance were Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, National Policy Against COVID19 Secretary and Chief Implementer Carlito Galvez, DFA Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Concerns Brigido Dulay, and DFA Assistant Secretary for Middle East and African Affairs Leslie Baja.

From the ceremonies, Locsin tweeted: “#UAE sent an aid plane to deliver 7 metric tons of medical supplies for our frontliners.

#Thank You, UAE, for taking care of Filipinos, both in UAE & the PH. Shukran, FM Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. UAE is a true model of generosity & humanitarian assistance.”

It was on April 30 when the UAE government cargoed through Etihad Airways from Abu Dhabi to Manila the seven metric tons, which, according to a DFA press release on Thursday, consisted of “four metric tons of assorted face masks, gloves and shoe covers, and three metric tons of sanitizers and wipes.”

The COVID19 aid was reported to benefit 7,000 medical professionals in the Southeast Asian country which experienced its first wave of the highly contagious disease from Jan. 30 (Thursday).

As of May 7 (Thursday) the Philippines had registered 10,343 confirmed cases, 1,618 recoveries, and 685 deaths.