Amid the devastations brought by the habagat and Severe Tropical Storm Crising over the past few days, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian visited on Tuesday (July 22) several evacuation centers in Metro Manila and Rizal province to personally assess the condition of affected families, and to provide augmentation support to affected local government units (LGUs).
“Ang instruction ng Pangulo, dapat lahat ng naapektuhan, walang magugutom kaya tuloy-tuloy tayo sa food box relay natin,” Secretary Gatchalian told reporters during an ambush interview early Tuesday morning.
During his visits at the Atis Covered Court in Barangay Payatas, Quezon City and the H. Bautista Elementary School in Marikina City, Secretary Gatchalian assured internally displaced persons (IDPs) of the readiness of the DSWD to provide other interventions to help them cope with their current situation.
“Yesterday, ang mga calls ng mga local government units natin ay rescue, ngayon naman nasa relief efforts na tayo. Kami sa hanay ng DSWD, handa naman kami magbigay ng augmentation [support] o karagdagang tulong sa mga local government units para mabigyan ang mga naging biktima sa kanilang mga lugar,” the DSWD chief stressed.
Accompanied by Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG), Secretary Gatchalian also checked on the evacuees at the Burgos Elementary School Main and Aranzazu Covered Court in Burgos in Rodriguez, Rizal to see the situation of the families who were required to evacuate due to the critical spilling level of the Wawa Dam.
Based on latest reports, the National Capital Region (NCR) has 10,565 habagat-affected families, of which some 7,696 families are staying inside evacuation centers.
In Region CALABARZON, some 4,590 families have been affected by habagat-induced rainfall and flooding, of which 2,400 families are temporarily staying in evacuation centers.
“Ang na-rerelease na natin na family food packs ay kulang-kulang nasa 100,000 na at tuloy-tuloy pa rin iyan kasi ngayon pumapasok na yung mga requests,” Secretary Gatchalian pointed out.
Also joining the DSWD chief in his rounds of evacuation centers in Rodriguez, Rizal was Secretary Jonvic Remulla of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). (AKDL)