DSWD gives at least P48 million to people affected by ''Paeng''
At least P48 million worth of aid was given to people affected by Severe Tropical Storm “Paeng”, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Monday.
“So far, we have released P48.1 million and we still have enough funds. As of this morning, we have P1.2 billion allocated for stockpiles and standby funds for the agency (DSWD). Over P206 million in quick response funds (are) available. So we have funds ready in case we need to augment the assistance needed for affected communities,” Social Welfare Undersecretary Edu Punay told the “Laging Handa” briefing.
Aid for “Paeng” victims included family food packs and other relief items.
Punay said the DSWD will also distribute cash aid to individuals affected by “Paeng” for burial assistance, for the injured, and house repair under their Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program.
“Right now, we are prioritizing basic necessities like food and shelter. We are prioritizing the distribution of the family food packs because this is what the families and communities need the most at the moment. In the coming days, we will start distributing the cash assistance,” Punay said.
Punay said that as of 6 am, 2.1 million individuals or 560,000 families were impacted by “Paeng”, citing the latest report from DSWD’s disaster response operation center.
There are 3,028 evacuation centers across 17 regions and 297,341 individuals or 75, 168 families are displaced, he added.
Punay said they have recorded 3,064 houses were damaged all over the country, 852 of which were totally damaged and 212 partially damaged.
According to Punay, the DSWD has faced logistical challenges in providing aid to remote areas affected by “Paeng”, especially in Maguindanao which suffered the most from the severe tropical storm.
“Actually, we experienced a few challenges in distributing relief items in far-flung areas, and the areas that were hit the hardest by the storm, particularly in Maguindanao,” Punay said.
“Two bridges were damaged, so this is logistically challenging. We are addressing it by coordinating with local government units, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), and the Philippine National Police (PNP),” he added.
Punay said under the leadership of DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo, the agency has a “proactive” disaster response.
“Our response in the DSWD is very proactive under Secretary Erwin Tulfo. Actually, since Wednesday, he had been meeting with regional directors for the preparations for ‘Paeng’. And in the past days, during the long weekend, we canceled the vacation for the field offices to respond to the needs of those affected by ‘Paeng’,” Punay said.
Punay said DSWD is preparing for the onslaught of Tropical Storm “Queenie” by coordinating with local government units and government agencies, including the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
DSWD is also pre-positioning food packs and relief items in their field offices so they can distribute them to affected areas, he added. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
