Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo today assured that the Department will continue to speed up the delivery of relief goods to all local government units (LGUs) affected by Supertyphoon Lawin, which struck  Regions CAR, I, II, III, CALABARZON, and V on Wednesday.

As of 2 am today, October 22, a total of 56,226 families or 237,681 persons were displaced in the said regions, of which, 29,533 families or 116,826 persons are currently taking shelter in 1,095 evacuation centers set up by LGUs, while 18,018 families or 83,986 persons are staying with their relatives and friends.

To date, a total of ₱14,072,830 worth of relief assistance has been provided to the affected families. Of the said amount, the Department provided ₱10,144,496 while respective LGUs in the affected areas provided a total of ₱3,584,254.

The report on the amount of relief assistance is still expected to increase as relief operations are still on-going in all affected areas.

Reports on damaged houses

The DSWD is also starting to receive initial reports on damage to properties from the different regional offices.

Based on the latest report, there are 6,308 damaged houses in Regions CAR, I, II, and III; of which, 5,209 were partially damaged and 1,099 were totally damaged.

The Department is continuously coordinating with the LGUs  in the affected areas to get a clear picture of the situation and expects these numbers to change in the coming days.

DSWD Quick Response Teams (QRTs) in affected regions are on a 24/7 operations and are in continuous coordination with the LGUs for the situational analysis and assessment on the effects of ‘Lawin’.

Yesterday, DSWD Secretary Taguiwalo also attended the Cagayan Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CRDRRMC) to monitor the situation in Region II.  Further, the Secretary visited some evacuation centers and distributed family food packs to the families.

“Inuulit ko na nakahanda ang Departamento na dagdagan ang rekurso ng mga apektadong lokal na pamahalaan. Mayroong sapat na stockpile ng relief goods at stand-by na pondo para sa kagyat na tulong sa mga mamamayan (I reiterate that the Department is ready to  augment the resources of affected LGUs. We have enough stockpile of relief goods and stand-by funds for immediate assistance to all displaced citizens),” Sec. Taguiwalo explained.

There is a total of ₱745,729,683.18 standby funds at the Central Office (CO) and Field Offices (FOs). Of the said amount, ₱723,119,508.87 is the available Quick Response Fund at the CO.

There is also a total of 297,566 Family Food Packs (FFPs) amounting to ₱109,923,954.91 and available Food and Non-Food Items (FNFIs) amounting to ₱245,685,539.27.

Call for volunteers

Sec. Taguiwalo also appealed to all those who are interested to help the DSWD  by volunteering their services in repacking relief goods. For those in Metro Manila, they may call (02) 856-3665 or 851-2680 for your preferred schedule and to ensure the smooth management of volunteers in the National Resource and Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City.

Those outside Metro Manila may proceed to the neareast DSWD Field Offices in their area.

“Hinihikayat namin ang ating mga kababayan na tumulong sa pagrerepack ng relief goods upang agad etong makarating sa mga nasalanta ng bagyo  (We encourage our countrymen to help in the repacking of relief goods so these may immediately reach the survivors),” Sec. Taguiwalo added.

Flooding in Maguindanao

Meanwhile, DSWD-Field Office X reported that the number of flooded municipalities in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)  has increased from 11 to 12 municipalities with 29,651 affected families or 144,865 persons. These are the towns of Sultan Mastura, Datu Salibo, Shariff Saidona, Datu Montawal, Pagalungan, Ampatuan, Datu Abdulah Sangki, Rajah Buayan, Sultan sa Barongis, Northern Kabuntalan, Sultan Kudarat, and Mamasapano.

The Field Office had initially released 10,000 FFPs thru the DSWD-ARMM as augmentation to the affected families.

The Field Office is also closely coordinating with concerned LGUs for any assistance that they need.  # # #