DSWD distributes P163.8-M aid to ‘Kristine’-hit regions

Manila: The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Saturday it has already distributed PHP163.8 million worth of humanitarian aid to regions affected by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name Trami).

Of the amount, the agency said at least PHP69.23 million worth of food and non-food items were delivered to the Bicol region.

Other beneficiaries were communities in the Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Soccsksargen, Metro Manila, Cordillera region, and Caraga.

At the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, Special Assistant to the Secretary for Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) Leo Quintilla said the agency has released 277,579 boxes of family food packs (FFPs) and more than 7,000 non-food items to all regions affected by Kristine.

Quintilla pointed out that before the storm hit, the DSWD had more than 2.1 million prepositioned family food packs, about 71,000 of which w
ere already prepared for distribution in Bicol.

‘Sa Bicol Region, kaya tayo naka-release nang mabilis is dahil mayroon tayong around 71,000 FFPs sa Bicol alone bago tumama si Kristine. So, first day pa lang, 71,000 FFPs na agad (In Bicol, we were able to release fast as we already had 71,000 FFPs prepositioned even before Kristine struck),” he said.

He added that efforts to provide potable water to internally displaced locals in Bicol are underway.

At about past noon Saturday, the DSWD, through the assistance of the Philippine Air Force (PAF), loaded 700 gallons of water onto a C-130 aircraft at Villamor Airbase.

These will be transported to Bicol to aid families and individuals impacted by Kristine, the agency said.

“Actually, the DSWD continues to innovate. So. right now, we have a new product. Ang tawag namin ay family filtration kit. Parang bucket lang sya na mayroong 0.1 na micron filter that can produce at least 1,200 liters a day (Actually, the DSWD continues to innovate. Right now, we have a new
product. We call it the family filtration kit. It’s like a bucket with a 0.1-micron filter that can produce at least 1,200 liters a day),’ he explained.

Through this kit, Quintilla said, families could filter bacteria and use rainwater, stream, or deep-well water for drinking.

‘Ang strategy namin ngayon, is to allocate these sa ating mga evacuation centers na nangangailangan ng malinis na tubig (Our strategy now is to allocate these in evacuation centers that need clean water),” he said.

He said the DSWD is also coordinating with affected local government units (LGUs) to help families with damaged houses and lost livelihoods.

“After the response, pumapasok na tayo sa early recovery at rehabilitation. So, una ang nawawala sa ating mga communities ay yung livelihood. So, the objective of early recovery is to restore livelihood sa family (After the response phase, we will enter the early recovery and rehabilitation phase. The objective of early recovery is to restore livelihoods in families),’ he said.

In t
he same forum, Office of Civil Defense administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno reported that more than four million individuals across the country were ‘severely affected’ by the storm.

As of this posting, the storm’s estimated damage to agriculture has reached more than PHP143 million and the figure is expected to further increase as the government is still in the ‘rescue stage,’ he added.

Damage to infrastructure in the seven most affected regions, on the other hand, has surpassed PHP200 million.

He reported that out of the 447 roads affected by Kristine, 265 are still impassable.

Source: Philippines News Agency