Over PHP2 million in aid has reached families and individuals who are reeling from the combined effects of the southwest monsoon (habagat) and tropical cyclones Mirasol and Nando, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Monday.
Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao of the Disaster Response Management Group said the aid comprises 3,872 family food packs and non-food items, such as family, kitchen, and sleeping kits, as well as laminated sacks.
“These relief items have already reached our disaster-hit countrymen in the provinces of Quirino, Nueva Ecija, Camarines Sur, Capiz and Iloilo whose local government units (LGUs) have coordinated with us for additional supplies to support their local response operations,” the DSWD spokesperson said in a statement.
Based on the 6 a.m. report of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Operations Information Communication, the combined effects of Mirasol, Nando, and the southwest monsoon have affected m31,626 families or 113,094 persons in 297 villages in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Bicol Region, Western Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Cordillera Administrative Region.
In terms of continuous disaster preparedness for Nando, the DSWD and concerned LGUs are ramping up coordination for timely distribution of relief aid.
“Just got off the phone with Governor Ronald Aguto of Batanes. I assured him that, following the directive of the President, 22,000 family food packs have been pre-positioned in various warehouses in Batanes, ready to be deployed anytime. We prepared these months ago as part of our Buong Bansa Handa Program,” DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said in a Facebook post Sunday.
Under the Buong Bansa Handa (Entire Nation Ready) program, the DSWD ensures that there are prepositioned supplies in close to 1,000 designated warehouses nationwide ahead of any disaster or emergency.
The DSWD maintains PHP1.5 billion in standby funds and stockpiles of food and non-food items across field offices nationwide.
The DSWD’s disaster response equipment such as the mobile command center, mobile kitchen, mobile water units and water tanker, among others, can be tapped for disaster response. (PNA)