The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) has mobilized its regional offices and key shelter agencies to assist the families whose homes were damaged or destroyed by tropical storm “Crising.”

Shelter is the biggest casualty during natural calamities. In particular, DHSUD’s financing unit, National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (NHMFC), granted a month’s moratorium on amortization payments for housing loan borrowers affected by the storm.

The moratorium was in line with the directive of DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon P. Aliling for key shelter agencies to exhaust all possible ways to assist the typhoon victims, and to implement them as soon as possible.

DHSUD Undersecretary for Disaster Response Henry Yap said the agency is coordinating with local government units and other national agencies to expedite the delivery of post-disaster aid, including temporary shelter and financial assistance.

“Per the directive of Secretary Ping (Aliling), DHSUD’s key shelter agencies are to exhaust all ways to assist the typhoon victims, and to immediately implement the same,” Yap told heads of the department’s key shelter agencies, which include the Pag-IBIG Fund, Social Housing Finance Corp, NHMFC, and the National Housing Authority.

“This may include amortization relief or breaks, community assistance on resettlement and project sites, provision of hygiene kits,” he said.

As of 9 a.m. Saturday, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported that the storm had damaged 276 houses — 34 of them totally and 242 partially.

As an immediate measure, DHSUD said it will deploy shelter-grade tents in collaboration with partner non-government organizations to serve as temporary housing for displaced families.

DHSUD leads the government’s shelter cluster under an NDRRMC Memorandum that mandated the agency to spearhead post-disaster housing efforts.

In addition, the agency is set to roll out its Integrated Disaster Shelter Assistance Program (IDSAP), which provides unconditional cash aid of P30,000 to families whose homes were completely destroyed and P10,000 to those with partially damaged houses due to natural or man-made calamities.

“We are committed to supporting our housing loan borrowers during this challenging time and this moratorium is one of the concrete steps we are taking to align with the efforts of President Marcos and Secretary Aliling to bring much-needed relief to the affected communities immediately,” NHMFC president Renato Tobias said.

P4.1M in initial DSWD aid

The DSWD provided over P4.1-million worth of assistance as the agency intensified its disaster response across affected regions.

Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group told the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City that as of late yesterday, more than 68,000 families or 215,000 individuals in Regions 1 (Ilocos), 2 (Cagayan Valley), 3 (Central Luzon), Mimaropa, 5 (Bicol), 6 (Western Visayas), 7 (Central Visayas), and 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) were affected by Crising, with around 5,400 families staying in evacuation centers.

Tropical storm Crising’s heavy rains triggered widespread flooding across the metropolis early Saturday, forcing authorities to temporarily close some roads and caution motorists about dangerous driving conditions.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) reported flooding in several areas as early as 6:25 a.m., including Maria Orosa corner Kalaw, Kalaw from Manila Doctors to Taft, and the westbound lane of V. Mapa.

In Quezon City, the intersection of E. Rodriguez and Araneta Avenue remained critical, with floodwaters reaching up to 13 inches as of 4:36 a.m., making the area impassable to light vehicles.

In Navotas, the water level reached about nine inches at the intersection of San Jose–M. Naval and E. Tuazon as of 5:25 a.m. but remained passable to all vehicles.