In response to the intense rains and floodings in Mindanao, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian ordered the agency’s Field Office (FO) 12 – SOCCSKSARGEN to immediately deliver 30,000 boxes of family food packs (FFPs) to Maguindanao province in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The DSWD chief’s move was based on the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr to ensure that the government’s disaster response is immediately felt by the affected families.
“Make necessary coordination so we can process the full deployment of 30,000 FFPs for Maguindanao by tomorrow,” Secretary Gatchalian told FO-12 SOCCSKSARGEN Regional Director (RD) Loreto Cabaya Jr on Tuesday (March 27).
Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) said due to the round-the-clock response of the FO-12, the relief goods were swiftly delivered to both flood-hit Maguindanao Del Norte and Maguindanao Del Sur.
“In fact, early in the morning, our disaster teams in DSWD FO-12 made sure that we can immediately deploy at least 28,000 FFPs today in line with the Secretary’s directives. And we did not just stop there, we also made sure we can immediately move forward with the distribution upon the arrival of the goods,” Assistant Secretary Dumlao, the DSWD spokesperson, pointed out.
The DSWD spokesperson said the urgent response from the agency was an important factor, as President Marcos has underscored the need to provide immediate sense of relief to all affected families in Mindanao.
As of press time, the DSWD SOCCSKSARGEN has already commenced the distribution of FFPs to 5,111 families from Ampatuan town in Maguindanao Del Sur.
Asst. Secretary Dumlao said the DSWD has started sending 5,649 FFPs as initial aid to all affected residents from the municipality of Mother Kabuntalan, Maguindanao Del Norte.
“We are constantly receiving updates on ongoing distribution efforts from FO-12. Our Disaster Response Management Division (DRMD) is on the ground, coordinating closely with concerned provincial local government units (PLGUs) and Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils (MDRRMC) so we can fast-track the delivery of much-needed aid to our kababayans,” the DRMG official said.
As of the 2:00 p.m report of the DSWD, a total of 5,215 families from SOCCSKSARGEN and 81,519 families from the BARMM have been affected by heavy rains triggered by the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).
Asst. Secretary Dumlao said the agency has so far extended close to Php4M-worth of humanitarian assistance consisting of FFPs; drinking water; and non-food items (NFIs) such as family, hygiene, kitchen, and sleeping kits to the disaster-affected regions in Mindanao.
“We expect this number will continue to increase as we gather more information and additional data into our simultaneous disaster response efforts in affected areas,” the DSWD spokesperson said. (LSJ)