By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
As part of the government’s ongoing disaster response efforts on the heels of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that shook Cebu on September 30, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) began its second wave of relief assistance to 12 local government units (LGUs) in the northern portion of the Visayan island province.
This, as the agency completed the first wave of relief distribution on Monday, with 225,000 family food packs (FFPs) being distributed in the City of Bogo and the municipalities of Medellin, San Remigio, Daanbantayan, Tabuelan, Sogod, Tabogon, Borbon, Catmon, Sta. Fe, Madridejos, and Bantayan.
In a press release on Wednesday, DSWD Assistant Secretary and Spokesperson Irene Dumlao reiterated Secretary Rex Gatchalian’s marching orders to augment the resources of the affected LGUs, based on a meeting with the mayors of the locales severely affected by the quake.
Asec. Dumlao said, “The DSWD will respond to the request for the 2nd wave of relief aid, as the affected families need adequate food support at this trying time. We recognize that they have yet to achieve normalcy in their everyday lives. This is also in line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to ensure food and water are provided to the affected families.”
The additional FFPs work in tandem with four mobile kitchens providing hot meals to constituents in Bogo City and the towns of Medellin, San Remigio, and Daanbantayan, as well as a water tanker conducting daily rounds among the quake-hit localities.
Social workers were also deployed from the Field Office – Eastern Visayas to aid in providing psychosocial support to affected families, with the implementation of the Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) program set to begin upon completing the list of families with totally damaged and partially damaged houses.
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