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The DSWD Central Office recently sent a total of 19,500 family food packs and 6,500 dignity kits to Field Office V for distribution to the families affected by the eruption of Mayon Volcano.
The DSWD Central Office recently sent a total of 19,500 family food packs and 6,500 dignity kits to Field Office V for distribution to the families affected by the eruption of Mayon Volcano.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office  in Central Visayas is calling for volunteers to help repack relief goods at the Visayas Disaster Response Center (VDRC) in Mandaue City, Cebu. The goods will be distributed to families and individuals who have been affected by the volcanic activities of Mayon in Albay.

DSWD Field Office VII, which has been helping Field Office V respond to the needs of the affected residents, will need 80-100 volunteers to do manual packing of the DSWD family food packs (FFPs).

Interested individuals and organizations may call Ms. Lilibeth Cabiara at (032) 233-0261 or visit the field office at Barangay Carreta, Cebu City to sign up.

Meanwhile,  DSWD-FO V continues to coordinate with the affected local government units (LGUs) in Albay to monitor the status of the evacuees.

More evacuees

According to the latest report from the DSWD-Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC), the number of families in the evacuation centers has increased to 17,490 or 66,442 individuals in 67 evacuation centers located in the six municipalities and three cities in Albay.  Evacuation of affected population is still on-going.

To date, the DSWD has provided P17,123,024.72 worth of assistance such as: 13,503 FFPs – P5,297,834; 14,000 pieces of Malong – P3,500,000; 6,503 pieces dignity kit – P7,023,240; 2,000 pieces assorted toys – P194,880;  and, 6,503 pieces blanket – P1,107,070.72.

DSWD Field Office V Director Arnel Garcia said that  the Regional Office has already requested a total of 69,000 family food packs from the Central Office.  Consequently,  twelve trucks of the World Food Programme  carrying a total of 19, 500 FFPs from the DSWD Central Office arrived in Legazpi City.

Meanwhile,  the Provincial Government of Albay picked up the remaining  4,343  FFPs  as part of their  request for  12,003 FFPs from the DSWD regional office.

Dir.  Garcia reiterated that the DSWD can provide for 20,000 families for 100 days if this need arises. He further said that the Regional Office can call the Central Office to augment delivery of  FFPs amounting to P402,000,000 to sustain the food requirement of  these evacuees in three months.

DSWD still expects the number of evacuees to rise as Mayon Volcano remains in alert level 4 status.

The Quick Response Team (QRT) of the Field Office is still on red alert status and additional teams have been deployed to assist in the monitoring of affected population.