Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Tuesday, October 21, visited evacuation centers across Capiz province to assure families affected by Tropical Storm (TS) Ramil of the government’s all-out support and timely response.
During his visit to an evacuation center in Barangay Tiza, Roxas City, Gatchalian personally distributed 1,000 family food packs (FFPs) to evacuees. He shared that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. had instructed him to check on the situation of families affected by the heavy flooding and rains caused by the storm.
“Mula Sabado hanggang kaninang umaga, panay ang tawag at text ng ating Pangulo para mabigyan ko siya ng update kung kamusta raw ho kayo dito. At kung ano-ano yung mga dapat nating gawin para matugunan 'yong mga pangangailangan niyo dahil sa pinsala nitong bagyong Ramil,” Gatchalian told the evacuees.
Several barangays in Roxas City were among the hardest hit by TS Ramil, which dumped a month’s worth of rainfall in just six hours. The storm affected 34,889 families or 129,348 individuals across 235 barangays in Capiz province.
The DSWD has so far provided more than 26,000 boxes of FFPs to regions hit by TS Ramil, with 16,578 boxes distributed to Capiz alone. More food packs will be released to support ongoing local relief operations, Gatchalian said.
“Sa ating Mayor Ronnie Dadivas, nag-usap kami ni Regional Director, 'yong mga request niyong food packs, mag-coordinate po dyan sa inyo para yung mga residente niyo na naapektuhan ay mabigyan mo agad sa mabilis na panahon,” he told Roxas City Mayor Ronnie Dadivas during a meeting.
Gatchalian also said that the DSWD is preparing to roll out financial assistance to families whose properties and livelihoods were affected by the storm.
“Pangalawa, makikipag-ugnayan din ho kami sa inyong local na pamahalaan, dala lang po nag-declare na ng State of Calamity ang ating bayan. At doon naman ho, nakakatulong kami sa tulong pinansyal para naman doon sa mga naapektuhan para makabangon ho tayong muli,” he added.
The financial aid will be sourced from the DSWD’s Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) program—an adaptive strategy that provides unconditional cash assistance to disaster-affected families, bridging the gap between immediate relief, humanitarian response, and early recovery.
Gatchalian also visited evacuation centers in the towns of Panay and Pontevedra and was set to conclude the day with additional FFP distributions in Panitan and Sigma. Coordination meetings with local chief executives (LCEs) were also held to ensure a harmonized response between local and national governments.