Photo 1: Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo distributes family food packs (FFPs) to Marawi crisis-affected families staying with their relatives and friends in Barangay Bagong Silang, Iligan City.
Photos 2 & 3: Other than FFPs, the DSWD also provides non-food items such as water containers, pails, basins, and cooking utensils to the evacuees to enable them to cook their own food.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has so far provided a total of P36,377,610 worth of relief assistance to families displaced by the ongoing armed conflict in Marawi City, Lanao Del Sur who evacuated to nearby municipalities of Lanao del Norte and Misamis Oriental, and in Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan City.

The assistance which was delivered to concerned local government units (LGUs) came in the form of family food packs (FFPs) with each pack containing six kilos of rice, four cans of corned beef, four cans of sardines, and six sachets of coffee; and, food and non-food items (FNFIs), such as high-energy biscuits, bottled water, dignity kits, sleeping mats, blankets, malong, mosquito nets, and kitchen utensils.

The Department’s Central Office (CO) has also provided fund augmentation amounting to P60,055,000  to its  Field Offices  VII, X, XII, and CARAGA which are responding to the crisis. Additional relief assistance from the DSWD-CO, including 9,910 pieces of high-energy biscuits; 5,000 pieces of infant dry cereal; and 3,00 FFPs are still in transit to FO X, as of today.

According to the 6AM report of the DSWD-Disaster Response Assistance and Management Bureau (DReAMB), the number of affected residents in Marawi has increased to 18,609 families or 92,628 persons. Of this number 2,722 families or 13,194 persons are staying in 22 identified evacuation centers (ECs) in Lanao Del Norte and Lanao Del Sur.

A bigger portion of the affected families, numbering to 15,887 families or 79,434 persons are staying outside evacuation centers with their relatives or friends in Iligan City (2,942 families; 14,734 persons), Cagayan de Oro City (17 families; 131 persons), Balo-i (1,455 families; 7,225 persons), Bacolod (162 families; 789 persons) and in Marawi City (11,311 families, 56,555 persons).

“Patuloy po nating inaabutan ng tulong ang mga kababayan nating naapektuhan ng armadong tunggalian na nasa evacuation centers at iyong tumutuloy sa kanilang mga kaibigan at kamag-anak. Ginagawa natin ang lahat upang maabot at mahatiran ng tulong ang lahat ng apektado lalo na iyong wala sa ECs (We are continuously extending aid to our fellow citizens affected by the armed conflict both in the evacuation centers and those staying with their relatives and friends. We are doing our best to reach and provide assistance to all affected residents, especially those outside the ECs),” said DSWD Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo, who just came back from Iligan City where she attended yesterday a coordination meeting with the operation heads of DSWD Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and local government units (LGUs), visited two evacuation centers, and monitored the distribution of food packs to evacuees staying in the houses of their relatives.

Better camp management

According to Sec. Taguiwalo, the DSWD will work with the LGUs and other government agencies to manage the evacuation centers better and to provide improved services to the displaced families who are mostly Muslims.

“We need to improve our camp management to incorporate child-friendly spaces, breastfeeding nooks, and prayer rooms, especially that most of the evacuees are Muslims who are observing the Ramadan,” she said.

Yesterday, Sec. Taguiwalo led the distribution of non-food items, including pails, basins, and individual cooking utensils (pots and frying pans) to enable the evacuees to cook their own food.

“The provision of cooking utensils is especially important because it is Ramadan and our Maranao kababayans are fasting and have their own ways of how and when to break their fast,” the Secretary added.

Sec. Taguiwalo said that Maranao and Maranao- speaking social workers from DSWD-ARMM will augment the Department’s Maranao social workers who are deployed in the evacuation centers. She also added that she will request for drinking water and psycho-social debriefing from the Department of Health (DOH).

Maraming mga senior citizens at mga bata, kasama na ang mga sanggol sa evacuation centers. Kaya naman laging nakatuon ang pansin ng DSWD sa mga kababayan nating evacuees at aalalayan sila hangga’t kailangan nila ang ating tulong at hangga’t hindi sila nakakabalik sa kanilang mga tirahan (There are several senior citizens, children, and infants in the evacuation centers. This is why we are continuously monitoring the situation of the evacuees and are assisting them until they can finally return to their respective homes),” Sec. Taguiwalo said. ###