DSWD releases P206-M relief for ‘Nina’ victims

Residents sit inside a classroom at the Central Elementary School which was turned into an evacuation centre in Santo Domingo, Albay province on December 25, 2016 due to approaching Typhoon Nock-Ten.
Thousands of residents were fleeing coastal and other hazardous areas in the eastern Philippines on December 25 as a powerful typhoon barrelled towards the disaster-prone archipelago. AFP PHOTO

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has released more relief goods worth P206 million to 27 typhoon-affected local government units (LGUs) sheltering about 87,000 evacuees.

As of early Monday, 20,624 families or 87,157 people were staying in 310 evacuation centers in the Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan), Bicol and Eastern Visayas regions, according to the DSWD.

Nearly 100,000 people or about 22,000 families from 291 barangays were affected by Typhoon “Nina” (international name: Nock-ten), while 16,106 passengers remain stranded in seaports in southern Luzon and Eastern Visayas as of Monday morning, the DSWD said.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said 383,097 people were evacuated as a precaution.

 Enough supplies

Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo said the DSWD was augmenting relief supplies of LGUs to ensure enough supplies for all affected families.

“Affected families who need food and nonfood items may approach their local government units because relief goods have been prepositioned with them,” she said.

The additional supplies released include 580,857 family food packs, 2,459 ready-to-eat meals, 1,585 malong, 885 mosquito nets, 885 blankets and 585 hygiene kits (so-called dignity kits).

The DSWD had prepositioned some P8 million worth of relief goods in 25 LGUs in Bicol.

DSWD personnel and volunteers are still packing food and other relief items in its national warehouse in Pasay City.

 Donations

The DSWD said it was accepting donations in-kind consisting of canned goods and other ready-to-eat food, bottled water, unused clothes and toiletries, blankets, tents, unused cooking utensils, mosquito nets, jerry cans, solar lamps and even unused toys.

On Monday morning, Cedric Daep, head of the  Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office, ordered the return to their homes of 41,903 families or 165,869 people  who fled the approaching typhoon, except those living in areas prone to flooding and landslide.

Those with damaged houses were told to remain in evacuation centers.

Rachel Miranda, spokesperson for Office of Civil Defense (OCD), said  there were 101,975 people or 21,553 families still in evacuation  centers all over the region. Earlier report from OCD revealed that at least 71,361 families or 319,838 people spent their Christmas Day in  evacuation centers during the onslaught of the typhoon.

 State of calamity

Local authorities have placed Albay and Catanduanes provinces under a state of calamity.

Albay Vice Gov. Harold Imperial said the provincial board in a special session passed a resolution allowing all government units to use 30 percent of their quick response fund.

Catanduanes Gov. Joseph Cua said on his Facebook account that  6,408 families or 29,406 people were evacuated in the towns of Bagamanoc,  Baras, Bato, Caramoran, San Andres, San Miguel, Viga and Virac. The  typhoon made landfall in Bato town on Sunday night, damaging houses and causing flash floods. The province was experiencing  power outage, which may last for at least a month.

The Department of Public Works and  Highways said the Catanduanes Circumferential Road was still impassable.

The Philippine Coast Guard  (PCG) has allowed stranded  vehicles and vessels in Sorsogon and Masbate provinces to travel after storm warnings were lifted. It said 3,152 passengers and 475 rolling  cargos had been allowed to travel from ports of Bulan, Pilar and Matnog in  Sorsogon; and 73 passengers, 22 rolling cargos, nine vessels and  two motor banca left the ports of Masbate  City, Cataingan and Placer in Masbate.

The PCG said that  as of 8 a.m. on Monday, 446 passengers remained stranded in Tabaco City port while 1,766 passengers, 56 rolling  cargos and one vessel were still in Pioduran port in Albay. Another 161  passengers in Pasacao port in Camarines Sur remained stranded.

As Nina swept across  Southern Tagalog, the regional disaster council said 2,461 families (11,737 people) were evacuated in  Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon (Calabarzon).

In Mimaropa, 1,393 families  (3,978 people) also fled to village halls and schools to escape  possible flooding and landslides.

In Laguna, 508  families (2,138 people) were evacuated.  —WITH REPORTS FROM MARICAR CINCO, MAR S. ARGUELLES, MA. APRIL MIER, REY ANTHONY OSTRIA, MADONNA T. VIROLA, DELFIN T. MALLARI JR., FERNAN GIANAN AND MAYDA LAGRAN

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