MANILA, Philippines — The Russian Federation has sent 30 tons of relief items for the victims of the earthquake in Negros Oriental, the first of two similar deliveries.

The relief items — which consist of tents, blankets, and preserved food — arrived Saturday morning aboard an IL-76 military aircraft from the Russian Federation for Civil Defense.

Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Nikolya Kudashev was at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to formally turn over the relief goods to Philippine government officials. He was accompanied at the airport by Russian Deputy Chief of Mission Artem Kudoyarov.

Undersecretary Benjamin Martinez, chief of staff of Vice President Jejomar Binay, received the donation in behalf of the Philippine government.

Also present to accept the donation was Undersecretary Parisya H. Taradji from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

“This is a great day for us,” said Kudashev. “To deliver the humanitarian aid to heal the wounds of the victims of typhoon “Sendong” as well as the earthquake victims in Negros, is a testimony of the friendly feelings of the Russian people with the Filipinos,” he said.

“We expect this to launch a good tradition of interstate cooperation to fight emergencies,” he added.

According to Kudashev, the relief goods are coming in two batches which include blankets, tents and preserved meats and fish. “We believe they would be of use for the victims of “Sendong,” the earthquake and other unfortunate natural occurrences,” Kudashev said.

Taradji, for her part, thanked the Russian government for their benevolence and generosity. “We are happy to receive humanitarian aid from the Russian Federation which in effect will help our government provide more assistance to affected families of the natural disasters especially in the Visayas and in Mindanao,” she said.

Taradji said the DSWD will ship and distribute the commodities to the affected areas at the soonest possible time.

Martinez also expressed his gratitude to the Russian government for reaching out and donating humanitarian aid to the calamity victims.

Martinez disclosed that Vice President Binay made the request for assistance from the Russian government when the Russian Ambassador made a visit to the Office of the Vice President.

“Nabalitaan nila how active the VP is in helping the Filipino people affected by the natural calamities. Nakakatuwa naman at dininig nila ang tawag naman para makatulong din kami sa mga local governments na nangangailangan ng tulong,” Martinez said.

Martinez said another flight containing another 30 tons of relief goods is scheduled to arrive on Feb. 15.