The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) quickly responded to the needs of families affected by a 6.0-magnitude earthquake that rattled several provinces in the CALABARZON Region, the hardest hit of which is Batangas.

The Department has initially provided 600 blankets, 400 bottles of water, and 30 tents to the affected families in the municipality of Mabini, Batangas; 200 blankets, 15 tents, and 100 bottled water to the affected residents in the island municipality of Tigloy; and 10,000 pieces of energy drink, 5,000 ready-to-eat arroz caldo, and 20 tents to the affected hospitals.

The relief assistance has already been delivered to DSWD Field Office (FO) CALABARZON and the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) of Batangas for distribution to the affected municipalities.

An additional 452 boxes of Ready to Eat Food (RTEF) from the National Resource Operations Office (NROO) will be dispatched today to the residents of Mabini.

Meanwhile, DSWD Assistant Secretary for Special Concerns, Anton Hernandez has met today with the local executives of Batangas and officials from the PDRRMO to check on the status of the province and the additional augmentation support it needs.

Present during the meeting were Presidential Adviser for Southern Tagalog, Dennis Hernandez, Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas, and Executive Director of the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) in Region IV-A, Ric Jalad.

During the meeting, the OCD provided a crash course on Incident Command System (ICS), a system that can help different government agencies to respond to disasters in a quick, organized manner.

The local executives also conducted a press briefing this afternoon at Mabini Municipal Hall with DSWD Undersecretary for Protective Programs Hope V. Hervilla, who provided updates on the assistance provided by the Department to the affected families; and DOST Undersecretary Renato U. Solidum Jr., who explained the cause of the recent earthquake and what the public needs to do to prepare for possible tremors in the coming days.

“Patuloy po ang pag-abot ng tulong ng DSWD sa mga naapektuhan ng lindol sa Batangas at mga karatig probinsya. Sa ngayon, iniiwan ng mga taga-Mabini ang kanilang mga tahanan pagsapit ng gabi para magpahinga sa mas ligtas na lugar o sa open grounds gamit ang mga tent mula sa DSWD. Nagdala tayo ng kumot at ready-to-eat foods para sa kanila. Nananawagan tayo sa publiko na patuloy na maging alerto at maghanda sa sakuna na maaring mangyari anumang oras. (The DSWD continues to extend relief assistance to families affected by the earthquake in Batangas and nearby provinces. As of now, the residents in Mabini leave their homes at night to evacuate to safer places or open grounds using the tents that we have provided. We brought blankets and ready-to-eat foods for them. We continue to call on the public to stay alert and to prepare for the possible occurrence of this disaster),” DSWD Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo said.

The DSWD, through FO CALABARZON, is continuously monitoring the situation in Batangas and nearby provinces, and is closely coordinating with local government units to provide augmentation support when needed.###