The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Thursday said it continue to augment the resources of the local government units (LGUs) of Bataan and Cavite so they can provide aid to their constituents, most especially the fisherfolk who were affected by the oil spill in Limay, Bataan.

DSWD Asst. Secretary for Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) Irene Dumlao in a radio interview said that from the start of the oil spill in Bataan, Secretary Rex Gatchalian has directed the National Resource and Logistics Management Bureau (NRLMB) to ensure that all LGU requests for family food packs (FFPs) should be swiftly released by the National Resource Operations Center (NROC), the agency’s main disaster response hub for relief goods.

“Nakapagpadala na po tayo ng initial na tulong sa Limay at Mariveles, Bataan. Nasa 10,000 po na family food packs yung una pong request na natanggap natin at ito naman po ay naipahatid na ng ating Field Office-3 (Central Luzon) and continuous yun pong ating assistance for the affected [families]. In fact, naghahanda rin tayo ng mga karagdagan pang family food packs na ipapadala dito sa mga bayan ng Bataan,” Asst. Secretary Dumlao told radio station DZXL.

Dumlao, who is also the DSWD spokesperson, said the agency is also assisting the LGU of Cavite since the oil spill has already reached the waters of the province.

“Now, sa Cavite naman po nakapagpahatid na rin tayo ng 25,000 na family food packs at ito po [ay] batay doon sa requested ng provincial government ng Cavite,” Dumlao said.

Among the Cavite LGUs that received DSWD assistance were Cavite City, Bacoor, Kawit, Noveleta, Rosario, Tanza, Naic, Maragondon, and Ternate.

In addition to the food items, the agency is also in coordination with concerned LGUs for the provision of other appropriate interventions., according to the DSWD spokesperson.

“Ito po yung una nating naipahatid na tulong, but pinag-uusapan din po yong other intervention. Whether Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) man yan, or Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT), or cash-for-work (CFW) intervention. So ito ay kasalukuyang pinag-uusapan. Pansamantala, family food packs po muna ang ating pong ipinahatid, batay na rin sa naging mga request ng LGU,” Dumlao explained.

The DSWD-DRMG official assured the affected fisherfolk that the agency will continue to closely coordinate with the LGUs of Cavite and Bataan and other concerned offices for significant updates and augmentation requests.