(Photo by PIA)
MANILA — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has released more than Php714 million in humanitarian assistance for communities affected by the severe dry spell brought by El Niño.
DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said during the agency’s Thursday Media Forum on October 1 that the assistance included 43,504 family food packs, 3,660 water containers, 4,967 other food items, and 2,300 non-food items.
“So the total cost of humanitarian assistance provided by the Department ay umabot na ng mahigit 714 million pesos,” Dumlao said.
She added that the DSWD has also deployed specialized disaster response vehicles, including water tankers and water treatment units, to Central Visayas and the Davao Region.
Latest monitoring by the DSWD’s Disaster Resource Management Bureau showed that 3,463 barangays nationwide are experiencing the effects of drought, affecting 189,994 families or 356,800 individuals.
The agency has also released Php702.619 million in financial assistance to 68,905 beneficiaries under the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport Assistance emergency cash transfer program.
Drought-affected communities have been reported in Ilocos Norte; Cagayan, Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya; Oriental Mindoro; Albay, Camarines Norte and Catanduanes; Cebu; Leyte, Northern Samar and Western Samar; Mountain Province; and Dinagat Islands.
DSWD said the highest number of affected families was recorded in Cagayan Valley, particularly in Cagayan and Isabela, where local governments have declared a state of calamity.
Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Camarines Norte, Dinagat Islands and Agusan del Norte are also seriously affected by the dry spell.
Dumlao said the DSWD currently has Php1.44 billion in nationwide standby funds and more than 3.86 million family food packs prepositioned in strategic locations.
She said the agency has sufficient resources to continue supporting affected communities as the effects of El Niño persist.
Major production hubs, including the Luzon Disaster Resource Center and Visayas Disaster Resource Center, are also continuously producing relief supplies.
Dumlao said DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian has instructed the agency to build up its stockpile to 5.2 million family food packs across more than 1,000 warehouses nationwide.
