Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian said the collective action of national agencies, local government units (LGUs), and civil society organizations (CSOs) made the response and early recovery efforts faster for the quake-hit Cebuanos.
Gatchalian said the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for a concerted whole-of-government approach by national agencies for those affected by the September 30 magnitude 6.9 earthquake resulted in breakthroughs in the overall disaster operations, benefitting the affected Filipino families and individuals in Northern Cebu.
“It’s a whole-of-government approach. We know that one branch of government cannot do it and the order of our President is that we must all work together to ease the burdens of the victims of these earthquakes,” Gatchalian said in an interview with Cebu media on Friday during his third visit to Northern Cebu.
The DSWD chief pointed out that one of the instructions of the President was the establishment of tent cities to provide temporary safe shelters for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the province.
Around 1,227 families are currently residing in the five tent cities which were set up for the quake-affected families through the efforts of the national government agencies.
“We have set up tent cities. We have one in Bogo City, one in San Remegio, this one, and then we have one in Medellin, Daanbantayan and we have transition housing in Tanauan City. So, all in all, the various agencies of the national government have already built five tent cities,” he said.
Gatchalian explained that in San Remigio, the temporary housing for the IDPs is composed of family tents from the DSWD while the modular housing units called “smart houses” were built by the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).
The DSWD also ensured the provision of hot meals for the displaced families through its four mobile kitchens currently stationed in Bogo City and the municipalities of San Remigio, Medellin, and Daanbantayan.
The DSWD serves as the camp manager for the San Remigio tent city where hot meals are provided and women and child-friendly spaces have been established.
The Bogo tent city was built by the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) while the DSWD is in charge of hot meals provided daily to the IDPs.
