By Darryl John Esguerra | Philippine News Agency
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Thursday assured it has a sufficient stockpile of relief goods and budget for the provision of financial assistance to those affected by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name: Trami) which continues to batter most of Luzon and parts of the Visayas.
In a Palace press briefing, Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian said family food packs have been pre-positioned to the DSWD’s regional, provincial, and municipal hubs ahead of the onslaught of Kristine, in line with the agency’s “Buong Bansa Handa” program which replenishes its supply of essential goods all-year round.
“Sa katunayan, bago natin naramdaman iyong epekto ng Bagyong Kristine, ang national stockpile natin—ito iyong mga family food packs na nakakalat sa lahat ng mga warehouses natin sa buong bansa—nasa kulang-kulang two million pieces,” Gatchalian said.
As of Thursday morning, Gatchalian said there are still 1,982,000 family food packs in DSWD warehouses nationwide.
“Nabawasan mula kahapon hanggang ngayon kasi nagri-release na tayo,” he said.
In the Bicol Region, which was among the hard-hit areas, there were around 170,000 family food packs before the onslaught of Kristine, which is now down to 121,000 as local government units (LGUs) continue to release supplies.
“Pero hindi tayo tumitigil diyan, habang nagwi-withdraw sila, nagpapadala na tayo ng karagdagang another 100,000 family food packs sa Bicol—en route na iyon ngayon,” Gatchalian said.
The agency still has enough funds for the provision of cash assistance to be used for the recovery of those affected by the inclement weather, he added.
“The DSWD has available funds, ready to mobilize financial assistance in the coming days. Hindi naman ’yan nauubos. That’s on top of our regular assistance funds at meron din kami ’yong disaster funds namin,” Gatchalian said.
In an interview on a morning TV show, Gatchalian said the role of the DSWD is to make sure that LGUs have sufficient relief resources since they are the first respondents during disasters and calamities.
“Ang DSWD, ang role namin is suportahan ang ating mga local government units kung sakaling kulangin sila ng mga goods,” he said.
Gatchalian said the Bicol LGUs have so far picked up their requests of 50,000 boxes of family food packs from the agency’s Field Office 5 to support relief operations for their respective constituents.
As of 6:00 a.m. Thursday, the DSWD has so far distributed over P55 million in humanitarian assistance to regions affected by Kristine.
These regions are Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Cordillera Administrative Region, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, SOCCSKSARGEN, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
DSWD Field Office – Central Luzon Director Venus Rebuldela said her office is actively accommodating relief requests from Aurora, Bataan, and Bulacan and to have the aid promptly distributed to Kristine-hit families.
Cagayan Valley regional director Lucia Suyu-Alan said her field office, likewise, has enough relief supplies for the affected families even as the storm made a landfall over Isabela.
Casualties
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said 10 persons have been reported dead, two injured, and nine missing.
OCD Director Edgar Posadas said the figures are still up for validation.
The deaths are from La Union, Quezon, Albay, Naga City, Catanduanes, and Masbate, he added.
Meanwhile, Philippine Ports Authority Assistant General Manager Mark Jon Palomar reported that 7,313 passengers are stranded in various ports nationwide, while 1,733 Roll-on, Roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessels are unable to travel.
He said food is being provided to the stranded passengers courtesy of the DSWD. (with report from Zaldy De Layola/PNA)