MANILA, Philippines — On Christmas day, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) started its relief operations in provinces in Visayas and Mindanao affected by flooding brought by nonstop rains, Malacañang said on Sunday.
The Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) said that this was upon the directive of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
The DSWD field offices in Eastern Visayas and Northern Mindanao have started distributing family food packs to residents in affected areas in Eastern Samar, Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Camiguin, and Bukidnon.
Citing the report of DSWD Eastern Visayas, the OPS said a total of 32,458 individuals were affected by the flooding in six towns in Eastern Samar (Jipapad, Oras, Arteche, Mercedes, Taft, Giporlos) over the holiday weekend.
The DSWD regional office has 45,000 food packs available and P10 million in standby funds.
Meanwhile, the agency’s office in Northern Mindanao also started distributing food and non-food relief items to over 9,342 families or 45,687 individuals in the provinces of Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Camiguin, and Bukidnon.
Of those affected, the OPS said 9,256 families or 45,242 individuals remained in evacuation centers as of 3 p.m. Sunday.
While only over 12,000 family food packs were available in their field office, the DSWD office said they immediately requested augmentation of the family food packs from neighboring regional offices.
The OPS said the DSWD Northern Mindanao office has P7.3 million in standby funds available for their relief operations.
Apart from family food packs and non-food relief items such as modular tents, medical kits, and hygiene kits, the DSWD is also preparing cash assistance to the victims of the calamity under its Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program.
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