The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) conducted visits to parts of Northern Mindanao, including Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro, following the devastation caused by Tropical Storm Basyang on Saturday afternoon.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian led the visits under the direct order of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to ensure immediate assistance for families displaced by the storm and forced to evacuate.

Iligan City was among the hardest-hit areas and was placed under a state of calamity after heavy flooding on Feb. 6. The city’s Safety Information Office reported five deaths as a result of the flooding.

Gatchalian, together with Iligan City Mayor Frederick Siao, visited two evacuation centers and inspected a flood-prone bridge to personally assess the damage and the situation of affected residents.

In an interview with DXCC 828, the DSWD chief said the agency’s field offices in the region were already prepared even before the storm made landfall and had been instructed to extend assistance to affected communities.

“We are assuring that no affected family will be left starving,” Gatchalian said in Filipino.

Later the same day, Gatchalian met with Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Rolando Uy to assess ongoing relief operations and support being provided by nearby DSWD field offices.

Based on DSWD reports, food packs have already been distributed to 456 families in parts of Lanao del Norte, Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte and selected areas in Eastern Visayas.

Gatchalian stressed that the DSWD remains fully committed to helping families recover from the effects of the storm, adding that President Marcos is personally monitoring the situation.

“Don’t worry, we will not rest until every family has recovered, the President himself is focused and monitoring the situation,” he said in Filipino.

According to the latest Tropical Cyclone Bulletin issued by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration at 4 a.m. Sunday, Tropical Storm Basyang has weakened into a tropical depression and was last located over the waters off Cuyo, Palawan.