Yoko Ono extends $10,000 for 'Pablo' victims

MANILA -- Yoko Ono, wife of the late John Lennon of the famed "The Beatles" and an established musical artist and fashion designer in her own right, has donated US$10,000 for victims of Typhoon "Pablo" (international name: Bopha) in the southern Philippines.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday that the donation was remitted to the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo on January 28.

The DFA said that Ono learned about the disastrous effects of Pablo in Mindanao following a personal visit she made to the official residence of the Philippine Ambassador to Japan in December last year.

Ono spent her childhood years at the now official residence of the Philippine envoy to Tokyo. The house is an Iberian-style mansion built in 1934, which used to be owned by Ono's uncle Iwajiro Yasuda. It was sold to President Jose P. Laurel, and was subsequently acquired by the Philippine government after World War II.

When she comes to Japan, Ono finds time to visit the residence to reminisce about her childhood.

During her visit to the residence last December, she conveyed to Ambassador Manuel Lopez and his wife, Maria Teresa, her appreciation for the care the Philippine government has taken to preserve the historic mansion.

Ono's charitable activities include assisting schoolchildren in the Philippines. She also made a contribution for disaster relief efforts in the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon "Ondoy" in 2009. (SDR/Sunnex)