Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian accompanied President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr on Saturday (October 26) as the chief executive personally visited and checked on the condition of evacuees staying at the Naga City Hall in the aftermath of Severe Tropical Storm (STS) Kristine in the Bicol region.
In his brief address to the Kristine-hit families, the President vowed that the national government will be keeping a close watch to their needs, with the DSWD leading the provision of family food packs (FFPs) and disbursement of cash aid to assist them towards their early recovery.
“Sa ngayon, asahan ninyo basta’t nandito ang pamahalaan, tuluy-tuloy ang aming pagtulong sa inyo, andito si Mayor (Legacion), Si Secretary Rex, at mga cabinet members para marinig sa inyo kung ano ang mga pangangailangan niyo,” President Marcos told the evacuees.
Secretary Gatchalian reported to the President that the agency is preparing to send a total of 35,000 boxes of family food packs on top of the 5,000 FFPs that were already distributed to affected families across Naga City, which was among the hardest-hit in the region.
“When Naga City Mayor (Nelson) Legacion and I met yesterday, the agreement was to raise it all the way to 35,000 family food packs kasi may strain na sa city hall,” Secretary Gatchalian informed the President in a situation briefing at the Naga City Hall held right after his visit to the evacuees.
The DSWD chief said he is just awaiting the official list of severely-affected families from the local government unit (LGU) of Naga City, and will soon start the distribution of cash assistance.
For Albay, the agency has already provided over 30,000 boxes of FFPs and is also processing additional requests for food packs as well as the request of 50,000 FFPs that came from Camarines Sur, Secretary Gatchalian said.
Despite the growing number of reported affected families across the Bicol region, Secretary Gatchalian pointed out that enough relief supplies can be pulled out from nearby warehouses, and from the Visayas Disaster Resource Center (VDRC) in Cebu.
This was the agency’s counter approach to the problem imposed by the routes that were cut off due to the infrastructural damage brought about by the weather disturbance, according to the DSWD chief.
“Mr. President we are still reducing all our existing stockpiles, but admittedly it is now running low. But given nag-usap kami ni Mayor (Legacion), marami tayong trucks ng stocks sa Milaor eh. What we’ve done is we were starting to pull out of Cebu… We’ll keep on supplying the region from our packaging center from Cebu,” Secretary Gatchalian said.
DSWD exec shares agency’s swift response in relief ops in Bicol, other areas battered by Kristine; bares next steps for early recovery efforts
A senior official of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) shared the agency’s current disaster response efforts and early recovery plans to assist families affected by Severe Tropical Storm (STS) Kristine during the Saturday News Forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City on October 26.
“Ang DSWD po ay handa before and after sa pag-respond to augment our LGUs [local government units] sa affected areas sa Bicol,” Special Assistant to the Secretary (SAS) for Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) and Concurrent Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the National Resource and Logistics Management Bureau (NRLMB) Leo Quintilla told reporters at the weekly forum.
“Before na tumama yung STS Kristine, ang DSWD mayroon tayong stockpile na 2.1 million family food packs (FFPs). Sa Bicol Region, kaya tayo naka-release nang mabilis is dahil mayroon tayong around 71,000 FFPs sa Bicol alone bago tumama si STS Kristine. So first day pa lang, 71,000 FFPs na agad [ang prepositioned],” SAS Quintilla explained.
When asked by the reporters about the latest provision of assistance, SAS Quintilla reported that the DSWD has already released 277, 579 boxes of FFPs and over 7000 non-food items to all regions affected by the weather disturbance.
As of press time, the DSWD has already provided humanitarian assistance worth Php163.844 million in Regions 1 (Ilocos Region), 2 (Cagayan Valley), 3 (Central Luzon), 4-A (CALABARZON), 4-B (MIMAROPA), 5 (Bicol Region), 6 (Western Visayas), 7 (Central Visayas), 8 (Eastern Visayas), 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula), 12 (SOCCSKSARGEN), National Capital Region (NCR), Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), and Caraga; of which, a total of Php69.239 million worth of food and non-food items was given to Bicol Region alone.
The DSWD official also mentioned that efforts of the agency to provide potable water to internally displaced locals in Bicol is underway.
“Actually, the DSWD continues to innovate. So right now, we have a new product, ang tawag namin ay family filtration kit, parang bucket lang sya na mayroong 0.1 na micron filter that can produce at least 1,200 liters a day. Rain water, stream, or deep well ay pwede nya gamitin yung filter to remove cholera, salmonella, and other bacteria to ensure na mayroon tayong tubig na magagamit. Ang strategy namin ngayon, is to allocate these sa ating mga evacuation centers na nangangailangan ng malinis na tubig,” SAS Quintilla explained.
In terms of early recovery plans, the DSWD is closely coordinating with affected LGUs for the provision of assistance to help families with damaged houses and lost livelihood.
“After the response, pumapasok na tayo sa early recovery at rehabilitation. So, una ang nawawala sa ating mga communities ay yung livelihood, so the objective of early recovery is to restore livelihood sa family. Dito sa DSWD, we have a number of programs to respond to [early recovery]. We have emergency cash transfer program, we have the cash-for-work, at iba pang mga programa, of course, we also have the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation,” SAS Quintilla said.
