By Leilanie G. Adriano (Staff Reporter)
LAOAG CITY—Boxes of medical supplies meant to protect health frontline workers in the province arrived on April 6, 2020 at the Ilocos Norte Capitol courtesy of the Chinese government.
In his public statement, Zhou Youbin, head of post and Consul of the Consulate of the Peoples Republic of China in Laoag City said, “China will always remember the support from Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc and Filipino friends during China’s fight against Covid-19.” The Chinese Consul is referring to a video shot of the Ilocos Norte governor last month encouraging the people of Shandong which they claimed as “very impactful.”
As the province is dealing with similar health crisis, its sister province of Shandong donated a total of 25,000 pieces of medical surgical masks, 2,000 pieces of KN95 medical masks, 2,000 pieces of googles and 2,000 sets of medical protective suits just in time when local health front-liners need it most.
“I wish all patients infected will recover soon. Let’s overcome the difficulty together in this challenging time. We are together, we win together,” he added.
With this, Mr. Manotoc said he can’t thank enough the Shandong government for delivering the urgently needed materials the quickest possible time.
The Shandong province of China have shared sister-province relations with Ilocos Norte since 2002.
In fact, the first foreign trip of Ms. Manotoc as governor was to Shandong when he, along with some provincial officials and department heads, attended an international friendship conference in October last year.
Aside from personal protective equipment, the Laoag Chinese Consulate also provided relief goods worth PHP600,000 to local residents here.
