The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) on Sunday said hundreds of overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan, affected by the recent earthquake, have received essential relief packs and cash assistance.

MECO said its chairman, Silvestre Bello III, spearheaded the distribution of government aid to OFWs during his visit to Hualien, the epicenter of last week’s 7.5 magnitude earthquake.

“President Bongbong Marcos is very much concerned with your situation here, and he has instructed us to extend all needed assistance to ease your condition,” Bello told the Filipinos in Hualien.

Bello also met with county officials and thanked them for looking after the safety and welfare of Filipinos in the area along with their Taiwanese counterparts.

“We are here to extend the sympathy of our President to the government and people of Hualien. We are also here to check the condition of our kababayans,” he said.

During the visit, he was joined by MECO deputy resident representative Alice Visperas, Migrant Workers Office director Cesar Chavez, and Welfare Officer Ruth Vivaldi.

Hualien, Taiwan’s biggest county and major tourist destination, hosts about 1,400 OFWs.

Earlier on Friday, Bello met with about 30 leaders of Filipino community groups from various parts of Taiwan who reported the situation of their members in the aftermath of the earthquake.

During the meeting, he also relayed the President’s concern for them. MECO distributed T$150,000 in assistance for the emergency use of the various OFW organizations.

Bello, likewise, visited the OFWs who sustained injuries in their dormitories and another one in a hospital who fell unconscious at the height of the tremor. He handed T$10,000 in cash assistance to each.