The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), in partnership with the City Government of Canlaon, assisted internally displaced persons (IDPs) affected by the Mt. Kanlaon eruption by setting-up community kitchens in evacuation centers.
“This effort between the community, LGU, and the DSWD exemplifies the spirit of cooperation and resourcefulness. It not only ensures the efficient use of the goods provided by the Department but also prioritizes the safety of families by reducing the risk of fire hazards associated with individual cooking,” DSWD Field Office (FO) 7-Central Visayas Asst. Regional Director Tonyson Luther Lee, who is also the FO’s Quick Response Team Vice Chairperson, said on Thursday (December 19).
According to Noel Morte, one of the IDPs who received the DSWD family food packs (FFPs), he volunteered to cook for the IDPs sheltered in Camp 2 at Jose B. Cardenas Memorial High School – Uptown Campus as a way of helping the community.
“Nagkasinabot ra mi tanan. Kami ang nagluto para sa pagkaon nila, 700 kapin jud ang amoa gilutuan so naa ra mi pirmente sa kusina. Akoa ra ni kabubut-on sa pagtabang, naa man akoa pamilya og mga igsuon tanan, wala man nagluto dire so ako automatic kami nagluto dire sa area (We all agreed on it. We cook for over 700 people. So, we are always in the kitchen. This is just my will to help because my family and siblings are all here, and no one else is cooking, so automatically, we are cooking in this area),” said Morte, a 40-year-old IDP from Brgy. Pula, Canlaon City, settled at Camp 2 in Jose B. Cardenas Memorial High School Uptown Campus.
Morte said the initiative ignited their spirit of ‘bayanihan’ amid these trying times.
“Wala man jud ko kasulay na daghan ang lutuan. Karon lang ko nakasulay ani, nindot diay, naa diay ang kasadya dire sa evacuation center nga magkausa, magsinabtangay, og para makaluto para sa tanan (I’ve never really experienced cooking for so many people. It’s only now that I’ve experienced it, and it’s good. There’s joy here in the evacuation center, where everyone comes together, cooperates, and works together to cook for everyone),” Morte said.
Meanwhile, DSWD FO-7 Regional Director Shalaine Lucero said the Department has already intensified its disaster response to the affected families of Mt. Kanlaon eruption in Negros Oriental.
“The Department has taken proactive measures to ensure that the IDPs in the evacuation centers will have supplies that will last for 20 days.
Moreover, we are also ready to give more assistance if the operation is extended,” Director Lucero assured the IDPs.
In Western Visayas Region, disaster response teams of the DSWD FO-6, led by Regional Director Arwin Razo, distributed FFPs to displaced families staying in evacuation centers in Bago City and La Carlota City in Negros Occidental on December 18.
As of press time, a total of Php35,646,007 worth of humanitarian assistance has been extended by the DSWD to the families affected by the Kanlaon volcanic unrest.
