In the aftermath of the latest eruption of Mt. Kanlaon early morning of Tuesday (May 13), personnel of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office (FO) 6-Western Visayas immediately visited the evacuation centers in the Negros Island Region (NIR) to check on the condition of the evacuees.
“Immediate response, in any type of disaster or emergencies, is crucial. And to think of it, this is even more needed by our Mt. Kanlaon evacuees who have been displaced for almost five months now. We have to assure them that we are looking after their needs,” Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) said on Tuesday (May 13).
Asst. Secretary Dumlao, who is also the DSWD spokesperson, said that ahead of the latest
eruption, the agency had over 267,000 boxes of family food packs (FFPs) and Php98M-worth
of other food and non-food items (FNFIs) prepositioned in DSWD FOs 6 and FO 7 – Central Visayas.
“These two FOs still provide the relief aid needed for disaster operations in Negros Island
Region. Hence, we are making sure that our resources are already there and can be tapped any time of the day in case the restiveness of Mt. Kanlaon escalates and requires bigger request for relief augmentation,” Asst. Secretary Dumlao pointed out.
The DSWD spokesperson also mentioned that the DSWD Disaster Response Management Bureau (DRMB) has just completed a technical assistance training on the operation, management, and maintenance of the agency’s mobile kitchen, water tanker, and water treatment facilities.
The training was attended by Quick Response Teams (QRTs) from DSWD FO 6 and the Negros Island Region (NIR) and Regional Incidental Management Team (RIMT), including LGUs from La Castellana and La Carlota City—both of which are most severely impacted by the ongoing volcanic activity and currently managing evacuation centers sheltering IDPs.
“This [training] is complimentary for the deployment of our newly-procured mobile kitchen, water tanker, and water-treatment facilities, which are set to provide Mt. Kanlaon evacuees with more stabilized provision of hot meals and potable water,” the DSWD spokesperson said. (LSJ)