CLARK FREEPORT -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said donations for earthquake victims in Mindanao can be sent to local disaster councils.
In a statement issued Sunday, November 3, the DSWD national office said interested donors for quake-affected families may go through the local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRMC) or at the Incident Command Posts prior to the distribution of goods for smooth coordination.
For cash donations, the DSWD advised the public to get their respective local DRRMC accounts or may deposit directly to the Office of the Civil Defense-National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (OCD-NDRRMC) account with the following details:
* Account Name: NDRRMC Donated Fund
* Account Number:
* 0435-021927-030 (Peso Current Account)
* 0435-021927-530 (Dollar Savings Account)
* Swift code: DBPHPHMM Account No. 36002016
* Address: Development Bank of the Philippines, Camp Aguinaldo Branch, PVAO Compound, Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Philippines.
The SunStar Network, led by SunStar Davao, is also accepting donations, which can be sent through the following account numbers:
SunStar Davao Publishing Inc.
* UnionBank: Account 0014 1000 2710
* Banco de Oro (BDO): Account 000 86001 7370
* Philippine National Bank (PNB): Account 4003 7000 6619
Meanwhile, the DSWD also assured residents of Makilala, North Cotabato who were affected by the series of earthquakes that assistance will continue to be delivered to them.
The municipality of Makilala is one of the hard-to-reach areas following landslides that occurred in some barangays.
A total of 20,704 families or 103,520 individuals from the 38 barangays of Makilala have been affected by the earthquake. More than 20,000 houses in the town were damaged.
DSWD Field Office-Soccsksargen said that based on the report of the North Cotabato Provincial Government, residents from Barangays Malasila, Kisante, and Old Bulatokan, who were appealing for assistance along the highway, have already been provided with relief assistance.
Even Barangay Luayon, which could not be reached through land travel due to a landslide, received relief assistance through an airdrop from a Philippine Air Force (PAF) helicopter.
As of 6 p.m. of November 2, a total of P1.4 million worth of assistance has been provided to the affected families in the town.
"We assure our kababayans in Makilala that help is on the way. We are looking for the fastest way possible to deliver assistance, especially in areas isolated due to landslides," DSWD Field Office-Soccsksargen director Joel Espejo said.
Continuing relief operations
During the long weekend, DSWD Field Offices in Central and Southern Mindanao continued their relief operations reaching out to more quake-affected families and individuals.
As of Monday, P4.2 million worth of assistance has been provided to 28,656 families or 143,280 individuals in North Cotabato, while P2.07 million was released for 6,984 families or 34,920 persons from Davao Del Sur.
Aside from relief distribution, DSWD workers are assisting local government units (LGUs) in managing the 30 evacuation centers which are providing temporary shelter to 4,362 families or 21,810 persons from the affected regions.
At the evacuation centers, social workers conduct psychosocial counseling for adults and play therapy for children to help them cope with their traumatic experience.
To ensure that only legitimate evacuees are served, DSWD social workers are issuing family access cards to families identified by LGUs as quake victims.
The access card entitles a family to receive relief and other forms of assistance.