Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian assured the provincial government of Catanduanes that the agency will provide additional 45,000 family food packs (FFPs) for the families affected by Super Typhoon ‘Pepito.’
Gatchalian said the delivery of relief goods, which are on top of the 10,000 prepositioned FFPs before ‘Pepito’ made landfall in the province over the weekend, are expected to be completed by Saturday (November 23).
“This assistance will continue as long as needed,” Gatchalian said in a situation briefing with Catanduanes Governor Joseph Cua and members of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) Bicol at the Provincial Capitol Building in Virac.
The DSWD chief also conveyed the message of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., commending the preemptive evacuation efforts of the provincial and local governments of Catanduanes, which contributed and resulted to zero casualty.
According to Gatchalian, the President said the entire national government agency machinery is behind the people of Catanduanes.
“He (President Marcos) appreciates the preemptive evacuation [because there was] zero casualty. That is, I think, the most important and best news of this disaster,” the DSWD chief pointed out.
The DSWD is now processing the provision of financial aid to the families whose houses were damaged, according to Gatchalian. “We’ll start moving to cash [distribution] hopefully by next week,” he said.
After the situation briefing, the DSWD chief oversaw the distribution of FFPs to 459 families from Barangays Marilima, Batag, and Balite in Virac.
With the resumption of sea travel, the DSWD continued the delivery of relief support to communities hit by ‘Pepito,’ particularly in hard-to-reach areas.
Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) Assistant Secretary Irene Dumalo said this development ramped up aid delivery to the island province of Catanduanes, which is
among the localities battered by ‘Pepito.’
“Based on the latest report from our DSWD Field Office (FO) 5 -Bicol Region, the island province of Catanduanes is now safe to reach via water vessels and so we immediately dispatched 5,100 FFPs there,” said Dumlao, the agency’s spokesperson.
In addition to the trucks transporting the family food packs (FFPs), the water vessel also transported the DSWD-Bicol’s Mobile Command Center (MCC).
Dumlao stressed that the resumption of sea travel would improve access to Catanduanes and facilitate quicker delivery of support from the DSWD. This support will include the 45,000 FFPs for the province.
