DSWD visits Masbate island after ‘Opong’

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Sunday arrived in Masbate province to check on residents after the island was heavily battered by Severe Tropical Storm (STS) Opong.

The DSWD chief was accompanied by Undersecretaries Evelyn Aribon and Diana Rose Cajipe, as well as Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao and Bicol Regional Director Norman Laurio.

The team was received by Masbate Governor Ricardo Kho, Congressman Wilton Kho, and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Provincial Director Ben Paul Naz.

Gatchalian attended a session on disaster response at the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office and met with Masbate’s local chief executives (LCEs) and representatives of line agencies to discuss ongoing relief operations for families affected by STS Opong and to determine other forms of assistance the agency can provide.

Gatchalian assured the LCEs that the DSWD will provide over 140,000 family food packs (FFPs) in line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

The secretary also visited evacuees in various evacuation centers in the province to distribute FFPs.

Meanwhile, DSWD Field Office-2 (Cagayan Valley) Regional Director Lucia Suyo-Alan and staff visited the island municipality of Calayan, Cagayan province, also on Sunday, to deliver additional boxes of family food packs (FFPs) and lead the payout for financial assistance to families affected by Super Typhoon Nando.