Photo 1: Tents provided by DSWD are set up at the Provincial Capitol Compund, where residents in the town stay at night for fear of aftershocks.
Photo 2: A staff from the local government unit of Mabini receives the ready-to-eat food provided by the DSWD for distribution to families affected the earthquake.
Photo 3: (From left) DSWD Assistant Secretary for Special Concerns, Anton V. Hernandez and DSWD Undersecretary for Protective Programs, Hope V. Hervilla conduct a press briefing together with the DOST Undersecretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. and local executives and officials from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) of Batangas on the cause of the recent strong earthquake and what the public needs to do to prepare for possible aftershocks.
Photo 4: Batangas local officials led by Governor Hermilando Mandanas hold a meeting to discuss the responses undertaken by the DSWD, NDRRMC, Office of the Civil Defense, the local Red Cross to respond to the needs of the families affected by the 6.0-magnitude earthquake that hit the province on April 8.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has provided a total of P1,397,880- worth of initial relief assistance to families affected by  the 6.0-magnitude earthquake that hit provinces in the CALABARZON Region on April 8, particularly the Batangas province, where the epicenter of the tremor was located. The earthquake was felt at varying intensities in different parts of Luzon.

Of the total amount, P644,116  was provided to the municipality of Mabini, Batangas; P286,480 to the island town of Tigloy; and,  P9,504 to Batangas City. The Department also provided a total of P457,780 worth of assistance to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) of the province for distribution to the affected residents.

The assistance includes tents, blankets, bottled water, family-food packs, ready-to-eat food, and energy drinks, which were delivered to DSWD- Field Office (FO) CALABARZON and Batangas PDRRMO yesterday for distribution to the hard-hit municipalities.

As of 7PM yesterday, a total of 1,222 families or 6,022 individuals have been displaced by the earthquake in nine cities and municipalities in the province, namely: Agoncillo, Batangas City, Mabini, San Luis, San Pascual, and Tigloy.

According to DSWD -FO CALABARZON, the affected families leave their houses at night to evacuate to safer places for fear of aftershocks.  The field office continues to conduct field assessment to check on the status of the affected residents, and is in close coordination with the local government unit of the province, particularly the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) – CALABARZON for significant updates on the relief efforts.

The DSWD Disaster Response Assistance and Management Bureau (DReAMB) is still on BLUE Alert status. ###