MANILA – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has distributed a total of 2,612,529 family food packs (FFPs) to families affected by the recent combined effects of the southwest monsoon or habagat and tropical cyclones Crising, Dante, and Emong.
Of the total, nearly 800,000 FFPs went to Central Luzon.
Based on the latest report of the Disaster Response Operations Management, Information, and Communication (DROMIC), 4,447 families or 16,943 individuals are still staying in 121 evacuation centers across Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Negros Island Region, and the Cordillera Administrative Region.
“Patuloy ang pagbibigay ng DSWD ng pagkain at iba pang tulong para masigurong may sapat na suporta ang ating mga kababayan na naapektuhan ng mga bagyo (The DSWD continues to provide food and other forms of assistance to ensure that our countrymen affected by the calamities have ample support),” Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) said in a statement on Wednesday.
The DSWD spokesperson said each box of FFP contains six kilograms of rice, 10 easy-open canned goods, five coffee sachets, and five sachets of cereal drink, providing immediate relief to families whose daily lives were disrupted by heavy rains, floods, and strong winds.
These food packs, she said, are part of the more than PHP1.7 billion worth of assistance already extended by the DSWD, which also includes non-food items and other relief supplies.
“The Department remains committed to ensuring that affected families, especially those in evacuation centers, have access to food and essential items. We are working closely with our field offices and local government units to address their needs,” Dumlao said.
She also assured the public that all agency-managed warehouses remain stocked and ready for continuous distribution of FFPs and other relief goods in preparation for future disasters. (PNA)