MORE than 20,000 food packs reached the province of Apayao and Kalinga as part of the relief operations by the Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Cordillera region.
According to the DSWD, Apayao received 10,000 family food packs, 1,000 malong, 500 blankets, 500 plastic mats, and 500 mosquito nets while Kalinga was given 10,081 family food packs, 1, 180 malongs, 540 blankets, 548 plastic mats, 548 mosquito nets, and 560 brown rice bars.
Kalinga and Apayao were hardest hit during the onslaught of super typhoon Lawin pushing both areas to declare a state of calamity last week.
Abra, Benguet, Ifugao, and Mt. Province also declared their areas under a state of calamity following the millions of damages to infrastructure and agricultural products.
Some 1,000 family food packs were also delivered to Paracelis and Natonin in Mountain Province.
Based on reports, agricultural damage has reached P 394,734,437.16 while damages to infrastructure was estimated at P1,169,713,077.88 while 15 died, four injured and one missing.
DSWD-CAR information officer Nerizza Faye Villanueva said the relief operations are also ongoing in other parts of the region.
Villanueva added the DSWD will also be implementing Cash-for-Work (CFW) for the communities with damaged facilities. Activities such as clearing of debris and repair of damaged shelters and small-scale community infrastructures can be covered.
Beneficiaries will be allowed to work for a maximum of 15 days and will be paid with a rate of P214 per day representing 75 percent of the current regional wage rate.
The social welfare office reported additional 6,000 family packs will be delivered to Apayao along with 500 rolls of laminated sacks as requested by the provincial government.
DSWD aims to release an initial assistance of P5,000 to each family with damaged house by the second week of November and eventually to provide those with partially damaged houses with a total of P10,000 assistance each and P30,000 to those with totally damaged homes.
To date, at least 83,862 families or 367,768 individuals affected by the typhoon with 1,294 families or 9,074 individuals displaced.
The 144 families or 3,327 individuals are housed in 33 evacuation centers and the remaining 1,150 families or 7,170 individuals are in neighbors or relatives houses while 32 of affected 58 national, provincial, and municipal roads are still closed, and 26 roads are now open to traffic. (Roderick Osis)