CLARK FREEPORT—President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has instructed the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to focus on the early recovery and rehabilitation of families and individuals severely affected by super typhoon Egay and the enhanced southwest monsoon.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian personally inspected and made an assessment of the aftermath of typhoon Egay in Ilocos Norte and Cagayan provinces.
According to the state weather bureau PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration), typhoon Egay dumped more than a month’s rain in its two Ilocos stations located in Laoag City in Ilocos Norte and Sinait town in Ilocos Sur.
Between Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning, Egay also dumped almost a month’s worth of rain in Aparri, Cagayan at 194 millimeters, according to PAGASA.
Widespread flooding was observed in several towns in northwestern mainland Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Abra, and Ilocos Sur, while multiple landslides hit Mountain Province and Benguet in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
In line with the President’s directive to assess the damage in the areas affected by typhoon Egay, Gatchalian ordered the DSWD regional directors to ensure the swift and unhampered delivery of assistance and services to affected families and individuals.
“Part of the President’s instruction is for the DSWD to enable the early recovery and rehabilitation of affected families and individuals through the provision of emergency cash transfer (ECT) and cash-for-work (CFW), which will start soon,” Gatchalian said.
He said the cash-for-work can run for 30-45 days and will provide alternative livelihood to typhoon-affected residents as part of their early recovery and rehabilitation after the calamity.
Gatchalian also instructed the Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) to replenish the prepositioned food supplies as soon as possible in anticipation of another brewing typhoon which will be named “Falcon” once it enters the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) next week.
Data from the DSWD-Disaster Response and Management Bureau (DRMB) indicated that as of this date, some ?2.1 billion worth of food and non-food items such as hygiene and sleeping kits have been prepositioned in various DSWD warehouses all over the country.