Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has consented to send a condolence message to Benigno Aquino III, president of the Philippines, after Typhoon Haiyan struck the central Philippines recently.

In his message, posted Monday on the website of the Prime Minister's Office, the Sultan said he was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and considerable damage resulting from the typhoon. And along with the people of Brunei Darussalam, he would like to extend deepest condolences to the government and people of the Philippines, particularly to the bereaved families of the victims of this disaster.

According to latest news reports from Manila, the super Typhoon Haiyan, the most powerful typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, has affected millions of people after it barreled through Visayas last week and left a death toll that is expected to rise to 10,000.

In a related development on Monday, in his capacity as ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Coordinator, ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh contacted the Philippines Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert Del Rosario and informed the latter that he is ready to facilitate ASEAN cooperation and coordination through the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management.

In a letter sent to Del Rosario, the ASEAN secretary-general expressed "great concern and sadness" over the devastation wrought by Typhoon Haiyan which slammed central Philippines on Friday.