Your report (After the storm, 7 November) highlights that despite intensive relief efforts, including £95m raised from the British public in response to typhoon Haiyan, 2.5 million Filipino people affected by the hurricane remain without proper homes. This situation can be better understood in the light of the crippling external debts that the Philippines inherited from the days of the Marcos regime (1965-86), when western governments and institutions financed the dictator with loans to secure his loyalty during the cold war. In the year since central Philippines was devastated by Haiyan, the country has spent $5.6bn on foreign debt payments. This amounts to 14% of the government’s annual revenue and 25 times more than was given by EU member states in aid in response to the disaster.