MANILA, 26 February 2005 — Princess Ann and Princess Mae Manzo, the formerly conjoined twins from the central Philippine city of Mandaue, are getting to be among the luckiest Filipino kids.

Almost a year after they were successfully separated by surgery in Riyadh, the two Princesses have again received an invaluable gift from their benefactor, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah.

According to Mayor Tomas Osme?a of Cebu City near Mandaue, Abdullah recently sent a year’s supply of medicines for the health maintenance of the twins, who were once conjoined at the abdomen and pelvis.

Saudi Ambassador Mohammed Ameen Wali handed over the medicines to the twins’ parents.

Osme?a asked for the medicines in behalf of the Manzo family, who cannot afford to buy these. He personally called up Wali to extend his thanks to Prince Abdullah.

Princess Ann and Princess Mae were separated on March 20 at the National Guard Specialized Hospital in Riyadh in an operation that lasted 14 hours and was aired live on the Internet.

A thoracotomy and a lobectomy were also performed later on Princess Mae to correct a lung abnormality.

Seven days after the operation, the 50-member medical team headed by Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, chief executive officer of the National Guard Health Affairs of the King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, announced that both babies were recovering well and had resumed feeding by mouth.

The twins then spent several months as guests of Prince Abdullah in his palace together with their mother and older sister, Carina.

They returned to the Philippines in July 2004.

The infants’ journey of healing started when their story, published by local media, caught the attention of Dr. Al-Rabeeah. Through the media, Al-Rabeeah found the Manzo family and offered, on behalf of the Riyadh hospital, to separate the twins. Follow-up negotiations were overseen by the Saudi Embassy in Manila, through Charge d’ Affaires Fahad ibn Bkheet.

Prince Abdullah has also sponsored successful operations for conjoined twins from Malaysia, Egypt and Sudan.

Ambassador Wali said the surgery and the twins’ entire stay in Saudi Arabia cost some half a million riyals.