P1.1B aid deployed to communities hit by Habagat, cyclones — DSWD
DSWD Central Luzon has distributed 1,300 FFPs to Habagat-affected families at Barangay Bancal in municipality of Guagua, Pampanga on Sunday, 23 August.
Photo from DSWD
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DSWD Central Luzon has distributed 1,300 FFPs to Habagat-affected families at Barangay Bancal in municipality of Guagua, Pampanga on Sunday, 23 August.
Photo from DSWD
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The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported Sunday that P1.1 billion worth of humanitarian assistance has been distributed to communities affected since the onset of Tropical Cyclones Luis and Maymay, as well as the southwest monsoon or Habagat.
“We started during Typhoon Luis, then Typhoon Maymay, and then this enhanced southwest monsoon, and we will continue to provide assistance to the local government units,” DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said in a DZBB interview on Sunday.
“In fact, the cost of humanitarian assistance that we have already delivered has reached more than P1.1 billion,” she added.
The agency announced that P1.1 billion worth of humanitarian assistance was composed of more than 1.7 million family food packs, as well as ready-to-eat foods (RTEFs), non-food items, and other financial assistance.
“This [assistance] continues, especially as we’re expecting another weather system to affect the country in the coming weeks,” Dumlao said.
The DSWD noted it continues to coordinate with local government units to deliver the necessary assistance to affected areas amid the ongoing rains.
Assistance to affected areas
Dumlao reported that in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), the agency has provided burial assistance and medical assistance to those injured and affected by landslides.
In Baguio, the DSWD also provided assistance to landslide victims with transitory shelter assistance, covering rent for three to six months while the LGU arranged their housing units for immediate relocation.
She added that in some areas, the DSWD distributed Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) to areas under a state of calamity as part of the government's intervention to somehow help affected families.
According to Dumlao, most of the agency's food packs are currently being delivered to Central Luzon, particularly Pampanga and Bulacan.
“Many of our fellow Filipinos really evacuated from their homes because of the high water levels [flooding],” the DSWD spokesperson said.
“And [there are] some areas where we still need to deliver our assistance to their homes because many of them are afraid to leave their houses or cannot walk [and] the roads cannot be passed through,” she revealed.
Fund replenishment and distribution of food packs
The DSWD is currently coordinating with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for the replenishment of its Quick Response Fund (QRF).
Dumlao stressed that the funds available for disaster response operations can be replenished based on existing guidelines, noting that the QRF is replenishable.
“Our fellow Filipinos can be assured that the DSWD’s disaster response efforts will be sustained because we are expecting additional funds that will augment our current resources,” the DSWD official pointed out.
The agency reported that around 3.8 million food packs have been prepositioned in various parts of the country, with the Luzon and Visayas Disaster Resource Centers producing food packs daily.
“While we are conducting response efforts [and] response operations, our production hubs are producing food packs, and these are being sent to warehouses to replenish the goods that we have already released,” Dumlao said.
