MANILA — Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando Bautista is now in Isabela province to monitor the impact of Typhoon Rosita which made a landfall early Tuesday morning in the province.
Bautista shared over a radio interview that he is with Isabela Gov. Bojie Dy to monitor disaster response efforts in the area.
“I have just talked to our regional director here. My instruction to him is to ensure that goods are already prepositioned in the local level so that affected families can immediately get assistance. I also thanked Gov. Dy for allowing me to stay in the province to monitor DSWD efforts,” Bautista said.
He added the DSWD quick response teams in areas along the typhoon’s path are now activated to assist affected local government units (LGUs).
As of 7 a.m. Tuesday, the DSWD Disaster Response Management Bureau (DRMB) reported a total of 1,947 families or 5,910 persons from 35 barangays in Regions 1 (Ilocos Region), 2 (Cagayan Valley Region), 3 (Central Luzon), and in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) who have been affected by the typhoon.
The DSWD Field Office also prepositioned Monday some 890 tents to 70 LGUs identified by Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) to be highly susceptible to landslides and flashfloods.
Food and non-food items composed of 6,800 family food packs (FFPs), 500 sleeping kits, 500 kitchen kits, and 400 family kits are now in transit to the DSWD Provincial Social Welfare and Development offices in the CAR.
In Region 3, the DSWD has also prepositioned 21,148 FFPs in various LGUs. An additional 2,000 FFPs and 1,000 sleeping kits are also expected to be delivered in the field office.
“We consistently monitor the path of the typhoon and coordinate with affected local government units to immediately send assistance to the affected families. Rest assured that the DSWD is doing all possible measures to address the needs of the evacuees and ensure their safety,” Bautista said. (DSWD PR/PNA)
