P4.9M aid extended to ‘Rosita’ victims

A TOTAL of P4.9 million worth of relief assistance was initially provided to families affected by Typhoon Rosita since November 1, coming from the combined resources of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), local government units (LGUs), non-government organizations, and other groups.

DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista said disaster teams from the different field offices of the Department in areas affected by ‘Rosita’ continue to assist LGUs in their relief operations.

“I commend our disaster teams for responding to the call of duty,” Sec. Bautista said recognizing the sacrifices of personnel who are on the ground to assist evacuees this All Saints Day.

As of press time, a total of 36,600 families or 136,647 persons from 1,143 barangays, 193 cities/municipalities, and 20 provinces in Regions I, II, III, VIII, and CAR have been affected by the typhoon.

Around 492 evacuation centers providing temporary shelter to 12, 866 families or 49, 470 persons remain open in the affected regions.

To ensure additional needs of affected families are immediately met, the DSWD National Resource Operations Center in Pasay City sent ?17,712,000 worth of family food packs and P3,559,500 worth of non-food Items to DSWD-Field Offices II, III, and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). These are ready for distribution to LGUs upon request for resource augmentation.

Meanwhile, trained staff from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) are on standby to provide gender-based and child protection response.

The DSWD continuously coordinates with the Logistics Cluster of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) for the availability of air, sea and land assets for the mobilization of relief goods to affected areas, when necessary.