The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Monday said it has handed out more than P27 million in relief assistance to residents affected by flash flood and landslide incidents due to the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and the southwest monsoon affecting parts of Mindanao and the Visayas region.
“The DSWD, through our field offices in the different regions in Visayas and Mindanao, are continuously sending food and non-food items (FNIs) to families and individuals affected by heavy rainfall, flash floods, and landslides,” Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) chief, Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao, who is also the DSWD spokesperson, said.
Of the amount, over P22.6 million in aid were extended to ITCZ-affected families while over P4.6 million worth of relief support were given to habagat-hit residents.
The assistance provided by the DSWD field offices were in the form of family food packs (FFPs), non-food items and financial assistance.
One FFP box contain essential food items, including rice, canned goods, coffee and other necessities, designed to help sustain families during this difficult period.
“Our field offices have been in quick response mode as per the directive of Secretary Rex Gatchalian. He ordered the regional directors to dispatch FFPs for the affected families immediately,” the DSWD spokesperson said.
Based on the latest Disaster Response Operations Management, Information and Communication (DROMIC) report, a total of 34,883 families or 174,173 persons in 176 barangays in Regions 6 (Western Visayas), 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula), 11 (Davao Region), 12 (Soccsksargen), and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) have been affected by the prevailing ITCZ.
Meanwhile, BARMM local officials commended DSWD’s 3 regional directors for speedy response to flood-hit families in Mindanao.
Local officials of the BARMM on Monday commended the DSWD for the speedy response of its three regional directors in coming to the aid of flood-hit families in the provinces of BARMM.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said the commendation for the three regional directors was relayed to Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Secretary Antonio “Anton” Lagdameo Jr.
Those commended were Field Office (FO)-12 (SOCCSKSARGEN) Regional Director (RD) Loreto Cabaya Jr., FO-9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) RD Riduan Hadjumuddin, and FO-10 (Northern Mindanao) RD Ramel Jamen.