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The European Union provides €150 000 (PHP 10.9 million) in response to monsoon floods in the Philippines

18.09.2026 Press and information team of the Delegation to PHILIPPINES

Manila, 18 September 2026, The European Union (EU) is providing €150 000 (about PHP 10.9 million) in humanitarian funding to support people affected by severe flooding across Luzon in the Philippines. The funding will benefit over 32,000 people in some of the hardest-hit areas, including Ilocos Region, Central Luzon and Metro Manila.

This EU funding will support the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) in providing families with essential household items, including sleeping kits, water containers and hygiene items. The response will also provide hot meals and safe drinking water to people in evacuation centres and affected communities. Mobile health teams will offer medical consultations, medicines, health information and mental health support. Hygiene activities and disease monitoring will also be conducted to mitigate the risk of water-borne and vector-borne diseases that often become prevalent after flooding.

The funding is part of the EU's overall contribution to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).  It comes in addition to the over €2 million already allocated to humanitarian partners in the Philippines at the start of 2026.

Since early August, the southwest monsoon, locally known as ‘Habagat’, has been intensified by several tropical cyclones and other weather systems. Prolonged heavy rain has caused widespread flooding and landslides across Luzon, particularly in low-lying, coastal and mountainous areas, damaging homes, roads, bridges, farmland, water supplies and power lines. Metro Manila has also been affected. By 14 September, more than 10.5 million people had been affected across 11 regions, with more than 120,100 people being displaced in over 500 evacuation centres. More than 4,500 homes have so far been damaged. A total of 188 cities have been declared under a state of calamity. 

Background 

The EU and its Member States are the world's leading donor of humanitarian aid. Relief assistance is an expression of European solidarity with people in need all around the world. It aims to save lives, prevent and alleviate human suffering, and safeguard the integrity and human dignity of populations affected by natural disasters and man-made crises. 

Through its Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department, the EU helps millions of victims of conflict and disasters every year. With headquarters in Brussels and a global network of field offices, the European Union provides assistance to the most vulnerable people on the basis of humanitarian needs.

The EU is signatory to a €16 million humanitarian delegation agreement with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to support the Federation's Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF). The Disaster Response Emergency Fund was established in 1979 and is supported by contributions from donors. Each time a National Red Cross or Red Crescent Society needs immediate financial support to respond to a disaster, it can request funds from the DREF, which can then be replenished by the donors. 

For further information, please contact:

Davinci Maru, Press and Information Officer, EU Delegation to the Philippines: Davinci.MARU@eeas.europa.eu