Social welfare dept relief operations continue after exit of ‘Nina’
MANILA, Dec. 28 (PNA) — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported Wednesday it continues to provide relief assistance to families affected by Typhoon Nina, which exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) before midnight Tuesday.
Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo said her department continues to coordinate with concerned field offices to ensure the flow of assistance for the typhoon victims.
Taguiwalo added that volunteers continue to prepare family food packs (FFPs) at the DSWD National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City.
Based on the 4 a.m. report of the DSWD Disaster Response Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC), the number of families affected by ‘Nina’ has increased to 132,908 or 602,770 individuals in 785 barangays in the Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol and Eastern Viasayas regions.
The typhoon displaced a total of 77,925 families, or 340,835 individuals, and 42,531 families or 179,269 persons are still staying in 507 evacuation centers.
The number of damaged houses also rose to 30,927 in the provinces of Albay, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes and Sorsogon in Bicol, of which, 21,255 were partially damaged, while 9,672 were totally damaged.
As of 4 a.m. on Wednesday, some 16,155 passengers were still stranded in 20 seaports — two in Calabarzon, three in Mimaropa, 11 in Bicol, and four in Eastern Visayas.
To date, the DSWD has provided a total of PHP31,018,264 worth of relief assistance to typhoon-affected families. These include food packs and non-food items, such as malongs, mosquito nets, blankets and hygiene kits.
Taguiwalo assured the public that it will continue to extend relief supplies to the victims of ‘Nina’, as the number of evacuees remains high.
The welfare chief also appealed to LGU officials to help the DSWD distribute the food packs and other relief materials as the department continues to receive reports from netizens that they or their relatives have not received badly needed aid.
“We want to inform the public that the DSWD has pre-positioned goods and funds with the LGUs. It is the LGUs that have the first and primary duty to distribute these goods among all affected residents in their communities,” she said.
She further said that DSWD field offices and the central office are ready to provide the LGUs additional support but are also expecting them to inform the department as soon as their supplies run low. (PNA)
CVL/LSJ/EDS
