The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), through its Field Offices (FOs), has started to provide relief assistance to families and individuals who have been affected by severe flooding caused by heavy rains brought by the Southwest Monsoon or ‘Habagat.’

In response to the request for augmentation assistance from the Local Government Unit (LGU), DSWD Field Office in the National Capital Region (NCR) is facilitating today the provision of 500 Family Food Packs (FFPs) for the residents of Marikina City who are staying in evacuation centers after the Marikina River reached the second alarm.

The Field Office is also facilitating the delivery of 300 food packs to the affected families in Quezon City through the request of the LGU.

The Department’s field offices in other affected regions have also ensured that food and non-food items are readily available at any given time.

As of the 11 AM report of the DSWD Disaster Response and Management Bureau (DReMB), the number of affected families in Regions III, NCR, and MIMAROPA has reached 14,291 or 58,115 persons.

A total of 1,348 families or 5,697 individuals are currently taking refuge in 45 evacuation centers (ECs), the bulk of which are located in NCR in Marikina City and Quezon City with 8 and 7 open ECs, respectively; and in Region III in the province of Bataan with 11 open temporary shelters.

Meanwhile, 7,414 families or 26,903 persons are currently staying with their relatives’ and friends’ houses in Region III.

DSWD Secretary Virginia “Gee” N. Orogo said the DSWD, together with its field offices, is ready to assist the affected LGUs to help them respond to the needs of their constituents.

“Sa ngayon po ay aktibo tayong nag-aantay ng augmentation assistance request mula sa mga apektadong LGU. Nakahanda po ang ating concerned field offices na maghatid ng tulong sa kanila (Right now we are continuously waiting for request for augmentation assistance from the affected LGUs. Our concerned field offices are ready to deliver aid to them),” Sec. Gee said.

“Handa din po yung ating mga relief goods (Our relief goods are ready). We have enough stock of relief supplies in our warehouses. We are always ready. We also hope that our barangays are also ready to assist our fellow citizens on the ground,” she added. ###