A total of P6,415,628.36 worth of relief assistance was provided by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to affected families of the cold front in Regions NIR, VII, VII, X, and CARAGA.

The said amount is part of the augmentation support of the Department to the affected Local Government Units (LGUs) which has provided P866,850.54 worth of relief assistance.

To date, there are 58,334 families or 276,860 persons in 482 barangays in the aforementioned regions affected by the tail end of the cold front.

Of the said number, 30,794 families or 157,465 persons are reported to be displaced with 17,237 families staying in 200 evacuation centers while the rest are with relatives or friends.

DSWD Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo has visited the affected regions to ensure the facilitation of the “maagap at may malasakit’ disaster response to the victims of the cold front which caused flooding and damages to properties and some infrastructures.

The Secretary assures the LGUs and the public that the Department has adequate resources to respond to the needs of the affected areas.

Secretary Taguiwalo said that the DSWD will continue to provide the disaster relief assistance even on weekends.

“Wala pong hinto ang ating paglilingkod. Makakaasa po kayo na kahit sabado at linggo ay patuloy ang paglabas ng DSWD ng tulong para sa ating mga kababayang sinalanta ng pagbaha (The provision of assistance is non-stop.  Rest assured that the Department will continue to provide assistance for the families affected by the flooding even on Saturdays and Sundays,” Secretary Taguiwalo added.

As of yesterday, more relief goods have been provided to Region X, which was greatly affected by heavy flooding.

Meanwhile, DSWD, in coordination with the LGU of La Paz, Agusan del Sur has already distributed family food packs to the affected families yesterday.

Secretary Taguiwalo also explained that some relief goods are in plastic with the DSWD name while some are in boxes.  “Iyon pong mga nasa boxes ay galing po sa dalawang warehouses natin na may mechanized production system, samantalang iyong naka plastic po ay nirerepack sa mga regional warehouses or offices na wala pang ganun kakayahan.  Wag pong mag-alala ang ating mga kababayan dahil bagama’t magkaiba po ang packaging, pareho po ang laman ng food packs natin(The boxed food packs are produced in two warehouses of DSWD with mechanized production system, while the rest are manually packed in other regional warehouses/offices.  We ask the public not to worry as even if the packaging is different, the content of the DSWD relief packs are the same).”

To date, the disaster Quick Response Teams (QRTs) in the affected regions are continuously monitoring the disaster operations, as well as conducting an assessment of the damages in partnership with the LGUs.