1,060 ‘Urduja’ victims start to receive relief assistance

BUTUAN CITY – The regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), local government units (LGUs) and other concerned line agencies of the government are closely coordinating their efforts to assist 1,060 victims of tropical depression Urduja.

In its updated Situational Report No. 4 to Director Felino O. Castro V of the Disaster Response Assistance Management Bureau (DReAMB) also obtained by The Manila Bulletin on Sunday, DSWD 13 Regional Director Mita Chuchi G. Lim, said there are 217 families or 768 individuals from the towns of Loreto, San Jose and Tubajon, all of Dinagat Islands province temporarily who were taken to eight evacuation centers, and the newly opened evacuation center in San Jose town.

Another evacuation center was also opened in Pilar town, Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte where 77 families or 292 individuals were already being attended to, she said.

The region’s DSWD chief said the agency has already pre-positioned 2, 572 family food packs (FFPs) for augmentation in Tandag City and municipalities in Siargao and Dinagat Islands province.

“At least we have 15, 107 FFPs available in Tiniwisan Regional Warehouse here and another 6,000 FFPs are also pre-positioned at the newly installed mobile storage unit in Placer, Surigao del Norte, ready for augmentation to LGUs who requested another relief assistance for their typhoon victims, “Director Lim added.

Meanwhile, the PDP-Laban Cares, a humanitarian arm of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP), has also started packing relief goods for distribution to Urduja victims.

The PDP-Laban Cares, led by chairperson Kath Yu ,vice-chair Ryan Culima and secretary general Jen Maliwanag, will be undertaking humanitarian relief operations and will provide victims with food packs, containing 10 pieces of canned goods, five kilos of rice, spaghetti with sauce, noodles and coffee.

Early this week, the PDP-Laban Cares also handed relief packs to 66 families or 303 individuals whose 55 residential houses were razed to the ground by big fire that struck within the residential district of Villanueva and Tandang Sora here last week. (Mike U. Crismundo)