Tropical Cyclone Crising has left the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), but the southwest monsoon or habagat continues to bring heavy rain to several regions—prompting the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Monday to stay on red alert to monitor the ground situation in affected areas.
"Bagamat lumabas na ang Bagyong Crising, patuloy pa rin na nakaantabay 24/7 ang DSWD at mga Field Offices (FOs) natin para mag-monitor sa sitwasyon ng mga kababayan nating patuloy na naaapektuhan ng masamang panahon na dulot ng habagat. Ito ay alinsunod sa direktiba ng ating Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr na patuloy na siguraduhin ang kapanatagan ng mga pamilya hanggat nandiyan pa rin ang banta ng pag-ulan at pag-baha,” said Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD's Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG).
According to Dumlao, who also serves as the DSWD spokesperson, the agency has distributed over P45 million worth of food and non-food items to municipalities affected by Severe Tropical Storm Crising and the ongoing monsoon rains.
As of the 6 a.m. report from the Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC), 346 evacuation centers remain open in Metro Manila, Regions 1, 2, 3, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Caraga, and the Cordillera Administrative Region. These centers are providing temporary shelter to 7,509 families or 26,181 individuals.
Aside from relief aid, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian has directed field offices to monitor the condition of locally stranded individuals (LSIs) at ports nationwide.
Concerned DSWD field offices have coordinated with local government units in delivering hot meals and ready-to-eat food packs to stranded individuals at Pasacao Port in Camarines Sur, Tabaco Port in Albay, and Parola Wharf in Iloilo City.
“Patuloy po ang aming paalala sa publiko na mag-ingat at makipag-ugnayan sa kanilang lokal na pamahalaan upang matiyak ang inyong kaligtasaan ngayong nakararanas pa rin tayo ng masamang panahon,” Dumlao reminded.