Gov’t relief work intensified for ‘Labuyo’ victims

DSWD Secretary Corazon Soliman. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Monday directed its regional offices to make relief supplies and contingency funds ready for distribution for the victims of typhoon “Labuyo.”

DSWD Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman said that disaster funds are adequately allocated per region in the typhoon-hit regions in Luzon and Visayas.

Soliman said that DSWD regional offices on the path of typhoon “Labuyo” are all prepared to assist Local Government Units (LGUs) in distributing relief goods and moving affected families to evacuation centers.

All in all, the DSWD has apportioned P160.35 million of emergency resources including P76.90 million non-food items, P43.15 million food items, P27.45 million standby funds and P12.48 million-worth of family food packs.

DSWD said in a statement that it has equipped its Aurora Province regional office, where “Labuyo” struck early Monday morning, with P3 million standby funds for disaster augmentation.

As of 10 a.m., 94 families with 416 persons in Aurora have already been accommodated by 16 evacuation centers. In total, 78 houses were damaged by the typhoon. Five of which were “totally damaged” while 73 are “partially destroyed.”

Meanwhile, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) issued a thunderstorm advisory and advised the public to continuously monitor for weather updates.

Posted at 10 a.m. on the state weather bureau’s official Facebook page, it said “thunderstorm formation is more likely to develop over Metro Manila within 12 hours.”

DOH on Code White Alert

All government facilities and offices are on “Code White” alert placing all emergency service personnel in an on-call status, the Department of Health (DOH) announced Monday morning.

Health Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Eric Tayag said that DOH is currently doing active monitoring and is in close coordination with the local health offices and hospitals, Radyo Inquirer 990 AM reported.

In anticipation of any casualties amid the “Labuyo” onslaught, the Code White Alert ensures the availability of medicines and supplies and the evacuation assistance in the affected areas.

According to the DOH’s statement, Code White Alert is adopted for national events, such as the 2013 National Elections, with potential for mass casualty incidents.