President Benigno S. Aquino III and DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano- Soliman check on the relief goods to be turned over to Albay Governor Joey Salceda during a recent Presidential visit in Albay.  Also in photo is DSWD-Field Office V Director Remia T. Tapispisan.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has provided P10.1M worth of relief assistance to augment the resources of  local government units (LGUs) affected by flashfloods due to torrential rains in Regions IV-B, V, VI, VII, VIII, X, XI and CARAGA.

As of 6:00 a.m. today, January 18, a total of P34.32 M worth of assistance has already been released from the combined resources of the DSWD, concerned LGUs, non-government organizations (NGOs) and other government organizations.
The number of affected families has reached 256,658 with 1,250,177 persons in the eight (8) regions.

Some 1,889 families with 8,452 persons are still being served in 51 evacuation centers while 112,380 families with 555,200 persons are outside evacuation centers but nonetheless continue to receive relief assistance.

In the Bicol region, 15 evacuation centers remain open serving 748 families with 3,071 persons in the municipalities of Daraga, Malilipot, and Sto. Domingo in Albay.   The DSWD has transported more than P1.6 million worth of relief supplies composed of family packs, food and non-food items to DSWD-Field Office V on December 31, 2010, and January 8 and 13, 2011 as additional relief assistance for the flood-affected municipalities in the province of Albay.

Meanwhile, on January 14, Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman joined President Benigno S. Aquino III during his visit in Butuan City in Agusan del Norte, Saint Bernard in Southern Leyte, and Legazpi City in Albay to personally assess the extent of damages brought by flashfloods in the said regions.

In Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte, President Aquino and Secretary Soliman distributed relief goods and family hygiene and first aid kits to families displaced by heavy rains.  The relief distribution was held at the Saint Bernard Central Elementary School in Barangay Maria Soccoro, Malibago, Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte.

In Legazpi City, President Aquino led the turnover of approximately 800 family packs to Albay Governor Joey Salceda.

Meanwhile, Secretary Soliman instructed DSWD-Field Office V Director Remia T. Tapispisan to look into the long term augmentation support to LGUs since the heavy rains is expected to last until February. The most affected are farmers, fisherfolks and families from island barangays.

The DSWD regional disaster teams in the eight (8) regions continue to operate 24/7 in coordination with the LGUs to ensure immediate assistance in relief distribution, data generation, and management of evacuation centers. ### (DSWD-Social Marketing Service) 18 January 2011