By Brian Jules Campued
The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and its key shelter agencies (KSAs) led the distribution of relief packs to families affected by Typhoon Carina and the enhanced southwest monsoon (habagat) in Bagong Silangan, Quezon City and in Parola Compound, Manila on Tuesday.
The relief packs—provided by the Pag-IBIG Fund—contained household necessities, including sleeping mats, flashlights, blankets, plastic plates and drinking glasses, as well as cooking pots and pans.
The Social Housing Finance Corporation also allocated relief packs for distribution to homeowners’ associations within its disaster-affected project sites, while the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation provided hygiene kits.
In a news release Wednesday, DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar said the department will continue to deliver assistance to displaced families in the coming days, as instructed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
“This is our simple way of easing the burden of our kababayans. Asahan n’yo po na tuloy-tuloy ang DHSUD at ang aming mga KSAs sa paghahanap ng paraan upang matulungan ang mga pamilyang apektado ng nakaraang bagyo,” Acuzar stated.
Meanwhile, the department’s regional offices in the typhoon-hit areas are also coordinating with local government units to process cash assistance for those whose houses were destroyed under its Integrated Disaster Shelter Assistance Program.
Acuzar previously directed the KSAs to grant a month-long moratorium on the monthly amortizations of affected clients, while Pag-IBIG allotted a total of P3 billion in calamity loans and deployed its Lingkod Pag-IBIG-on-wheels to bring services closer to its members. – iro
