YOKO ONO GIVES $10,000 TO HELP "PABLO" VICTIMS

Yoko Ono, the widow of the late Beatles member John Lennon, has joined those who have extended assistance to the victims of Typhoon Pablo by donating $10,000.

In a statement Wednesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Ono’s donation was remitted to the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo last January 28.

“Ms. Ono learned about the disastrous effects of typhoon Pablo in Mindanao following a personal visit she made to the official residence of the Philippine Ambassador to Japan on December 5, 2012,” the statement said.

 

Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manuel M. Lopez and Madame Maria Teres A. Lopez flank Ms. Yoko Ono in a photo taken in December 2012. DFA photo.

Pablo, which crashed through many areas in the Visayas and Mindanao in December last year, was responsible for over a thousand deaths and over P30 billion in damage, and was considered as the world's deadliest disaster last year.

According to the DFA, the Philippine Ambassador to Japan’s residence where Ono heard about the typhoon's devastation was a place where she spent her childhood years.

The mansion used to be owned by her uncle Iwajiro Yasuda and was later acquired by the Philippine government after World War II.

Ono, a music artist herself as well as fashion designer, has been involved in previous charitable activities regarding the Philippines. In 2010, she donated around P2.5 million to the victims of tropical storm Ondoy.

The DFA statement said Ono has also assisted Philippine schoolchildren in previous charitable activities.