The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) regional office in Eastern Visayas has PHP236.37 million worth of relief items ready for distribution amid recent earthquakes.
The stockpile includes 125,216 food items—comprising 18,473 ready-to-eat food packs and 106,743 family food packs (FFPs)—along with 22,146 non-food items such as family kits, sleeping kits, hygiene kits, and kitchen kits.
DSWD-Eastern Visayas information officer Jonalyndie Chua said the agency has been augmenting stocks to address natural calamities, including the strong earthquake in Davao Oriental. “DSWD is always ready to respond. We continue to monitor and coordinate with local governments to ensure immediate response and assistance to those who may have been affected,” Chua told the Philippine News Agency on Monday.
Meanwhile, DSWD personnel are supporting partner agencies to aid families in Cebu affected by the September 30 magnitude 6.9 earthquake. In coordination with local government units and the Philippine National Red Cross, social workers are monitoring evacuation sites and checking on displaced families.
The regional office deployed a mobile kitchen to Cebu province last week to assist severely impacted families. The kitchen is operated by nine staff from the DSWD-Eastern Visayas field office.