ILOILO CITY (PIA) – The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Western Visayas has extended more than P128.75-million worth of assistance to families affected by disasters and incidents in the second quarter of this year.
DSWD 6 director lawyer Carmelo N. Nochete, during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas aired June 11, said that DSWD has already provided to affected families of the Kanlaon volcanic eruption a total of 1,632 family food packs worth more than P1 million and a total of 2,028 non-food items worth around P2.91million, composed of sleeping, family, hygiene and kitchen kits.
Based on DSWD Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC) report last June 10, DSWD has a total of 68,471 family food packs worth around P60.36 million stockpiled at its regional and Bacolod warehouses. It has also a standby fund of about P8.5 million for quick response.
Nochete added that they had also deployed in the area their Mobile Command Center equipped with state-of-the-art technology that has a satellite internet, 2 laptops, 2 printers, scanner, camera, large capacity power banks and 5kVA generator.
Meanwhile, DSWD 6 Disaster Response Information and Management Section (DRIMS) Project Management Officer III Claud Jan S. Marquez said that relief aid during the quarter consisted of a P107.56- million food assistance; P8.92-million for non-food assistance; and P12.26 million in cash assistance.
Marquez added that a total of five major disasters and incidents were recorded out of the total of 363 in the region for the second quarter with fire leading at 340 incidents.
Aside from fire incidents and volcanic eruption, other incidents recorded are armed conflicts, effects of El Niño, monsoon rains, oil spill, soil erosion and tropical cyclone, among others.
A total of 496,458 families or 1,850,616 individuals were affected by these disasters, displacing a total of 2,344 families or 8,150 individuals and 720 damaged houses.
While the five major incidents recorded are the effects of El Niño in the region with a total of 495,672 affected families, armed conflict in Barangay Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental that affected a total of 63 families, a fire incident in Barangay 18, Poblacion, Bacolod City that affected a total of 47 families, armed conflict in Barangay Carol-an, Kabankalan, Negros Occidental, that affected a total of 115 families and the Kanlaon Volcanic Eruption that affected around 1,742 families as of this reporting.
As the Vice-Chair for Disaster Response and Early Recovery pillar of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC), DSWD ensures that the response of the government as a whole is well coordinated, follows national standards and is clearly communicated to the public. (AAL/EJB/PIA6)
