Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo joined the team of President Rodrigo Duterte who flew this morning to Virac, Catanduanes to check on the condition of families affected by Typhoon Nina.

Catanduanes was one of the provinces badly hit by Typhoon Nina. The typhoon made a landfall in the island of Catanduanes at 6PM on Christmas day, December 25, toppling trees, cutting power and communication lines, damaging hundreds of houses, and displacing thousands of residents. The province was placed under typhoon signal number 4 until yesterday.

Sec. Taguiwalo said that some 12,000 family food packs have been prepositioned in the province even before ‘Nina’ made a landfall. She added that 2,596 food packs arrived yesterday and today. About 2,500 more will arrive anytime soon.

Sec. Taguiwalo shared that a press briefing was also conducted with Catanduanes Governor Joseph C. Cua and Vice Governor Shirley Abundo, and other officials of the province to discuss the effects of ‘Nina’ in the Bicol Region. The initial assessment was presented by Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (RDRRMC) – Bicol Chairperson Bernardo Alejandro IV.

She further shared that President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to lead the ceremonial distribution of food packs to families affected by ‘Nina’ in the province.

“We are glad for the continued support of the President to the DSWD’s efforts to provide immediate assistance to Filipinos affected by calamities. We want to waste as little time as possible to address the immediate needs of survivors of calamities and to respond to the calls of LGUs for augmentation when it comes to relief funds and goods. Much still has to be done to make our response system as fast and as efficient as demanded by the emergency situation created by the calamities, but slowly yet surely, we are improving as we go. We appeal to all LGUs to work hand-in-hand with DSWD and our Field Offices when it comes to distributing all aid to affected families. We want to ensure that all the assistance meant for calamity survivors go to them,” she said.

As of 2AM today, ‘Nina’ has affected 35,641 families or 147,351 persons. Some 30,676 families or 127,012 persons are currently staying in 520 evacuation centers.

Meanwhile, the number of damaged houses has increased to 332 in Region MIMAROPA; of which, 293 are partially damaged, while 41 are totally damaged.

As of 2AM today, 16,155 passengers remain stranded in 20 seaports: two in CALABARZON, three in MIMAROPA, 11 in Region V, and four in Region VIII.

The DSWD Central Office, in coordination with DSWD CALABARZON and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has conducted yesterday until today a feeding activity for 1,500 stranded passengers in the port of Batangas.

The DSWD continues to monitor the condition of the evacuees and provide relief assistance, which include family food packs (FFPs) and food and non-food items (FNFIs) such as malong, plastic mats, blankets, and mosquito nets. To date, the Department has provided a total of 6,249,254 worth of aid.

DSWD Sec. Taguiwalo urged the public to help in extending aid to the families affected by the typhoon. ###