The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Field Office 8-Eastern Visayas swiftly assisted the individuals affected by the passage restrictions due to the emergency repair of the San Juanico Bridge, an agency official said on Tuesday (May 20).

Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) said the agency has provided 211 boxes of family food packs (FFPs) amounting to Php135,472.55 to the stranded individuals at the bridge area.

“Upon the instructions of Secretary Rex Gatchalian, the Field Office-8 immediately provided FFPs to all the affected truckers, porters, drivers, and passengers,” Asst. Secretary Dumlao, who is also the DSWD spokesperson, said.

The DRMG official said the DSWD Eastern Visayas facilitated the profiling and assessment of the strandees through the Family Access Card in Emergencies and Disasters (FACED).

The FACED is a profiling strategy in collecting the demographic and socioeconomic data of disaster-vulnerable and disaster-affected families such as their name, age, sex, education, and income, as well as post-disaster data and information about the humanitarian assistance received.

“Through the FACED assessment, the agency identified the needs of those affected and determined what assistance could be provided,” Asst. Secretary Dumlao pointed out.

Apart from the provision of FFPs, the DSWD-8 is also planning to deploy its mobile kitchen to help provide hot meals to the strandees.

“We will meet with local governments on how to assist the stranded passengers. For the first time, we will deploy our mobile kitchen to provide hot meals to affected truckers and travelers,” DSWD Eastern Visayas Region Director Grace Subong said.

On May 18, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said safety measures, including banning pedestrians, will be undertaken at the San Juanico Bridge which is due for rehabilitation.
(AKDL)