The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported Monday it has extended over P5.4-million worth of relief assistance to families affected by Tropical Storm ‘Ramil,’ which left the Philippine area of responsibility late morning.
Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) said the respective field offices in Ramil’s path have provided humanitarian assistance to individuals and families affected by the recent weather disturbance.
“The DSWD is continuously distributing aid to those affected by storm ‘Ramil,’ especially in Western Visayas, where damage is significant,” she said.
“Included in the assistance our agency has provided are the family food packs for the affected families and ready-to-eat food boxes for the locally stranded individuals in the ports,” Dumlao added.
The DSWD spokesperson said the biggest amount of assistance was distributed to Western Visayas with over P3 million food and non-food items, followed by Central Luzon with over P1.1 million, and over P1 million worth of aid for affected families in Bicol Region.
“Aside from the distribution of aid, the DSWD is also in contact with the concerned local government units (LGUs) to ensure that the internally displaced persons (IDPs), who are in the evacuation centers and also the families who are staying temporarily with their friends or relatives are in good condition,” Dumlao said.
Some 3,778 families or 12,550 persons are currently taking temporary shelter in 237 evacuation centers in Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol Region, and Western Visayas, while some 2,719 families or 9,962 individuals are temporarily staying with their relatives or friends.
“To our fellow citizens, even though the DSWD is conducting multiple disaster response operations at the same time, you can rest assured that its assistance to those affected by storm ‘Ramil’ will be sustained,” Dumlao said.
