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MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has given over P169-million worth of government assistance to Filipinos in Visayas and Mindanao affected by floods brought about by recent heavy rains.
DSWD Asec. Rommel Lopez on Friday said the agency has so far distributed P50 million worth of relief goods and P119 million cash assistance to the flood-hit Filipinos.
“Sa kabuuan ay nasa 50,245,000 pesos na po iyong worth of assistance na naipamahagi natin doon sa ating mga kababayan. Ito po iyong mga family food packs natin, ito po iyong mga hygiene kits natin, mga modular tents natin at ganoon din po siyempre, iyong mga family tents natin,” he said in a public briefing.
(In total, the value of assistance that we have distributed to our countrymen is 50,245,000 pesos. These are our family food packs, hygiene kits, our modular tents, and of course, our family tents.)
In addition, 24,455 beneficiaries initially from Regions V, VIII, and X received cash assistance from DSWD, he added.
“At naaabot naman po sa P119 million po iyong ating worth po ng financial assistance na naipamahagi po natin doon po sa ating mga kababayan,” Lopez added.
[And our worth of financial assistance that we have distributed to our countrymen has reached P119 million.]
READ: OVP donates 543 sacks of rice to flood-hit communities in Palawan
To date, 191,000 families in 1,118 barangays in Regions V, VI, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, Caraga, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are still being monitored by DSWD, he added.
Apart from the distributed aid, Lopez said the DSWD has a stockpile of 76,580 family food packs at the Pasay City National Resource Operation Center, 21,806 at the Visayas Disaster Resource Center (VDRC), and 439,455 allotted for the remaining affected regions.
For the overall budget this 2023, he said that the agency still has a budget of P855 million for aid on calamity and disaster cases.
The DSWD is also open to accepting donations in cash, however, it discourages donations of clothings as it may pose health risks. — Niña Cuasay, trainee