DSWD: Volunteers needed for repacking relief goods

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is calling for volunteers to assist in the repacking of relief goods that will be distributed to families affected by Severe Tropical Storm Paeng, which pounded the country last Saturday.

The DSWD yesterday said its Quick Response Teams (QRTs) are attending to the repacking of family food packs and other non-food relief items for transport to the regions hard hit by Paeng.

The agency currently has 91 volunteers – comprised of members from the DSWD-QRT, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Philippine Air Force, barangay volunteers, private individuals and National Resource Operations Center and Philcare personnel – repacking at its main warehouse, the NROC, in Pasay City.

The repacking operations will be done daily until Nov. 11.

The DSWD urged individuals or organizations who are interested to volunteer to call Clifford at 0956-9226155 or Nica at 0915-2921875, or visit the DSWD NROC along Chapel Road in Barangay 195, Pasay City.

The DSWD expressed hope that the bayanihan spirit among the public sector and private individuals and organizations will once again be evident in efforts to provide relief to thousands of families that were rendered homeless or distressed by the destruction wrought by the severe tropical storm.

P10 million quick response fund

Meanwhile, the DSWD is preparing to release P10 million in  disaster quick response funds to seven regions in the country that were hardest hit by Paeng’s onslaught.

At a virtual coordination presided over by Social Welfare Secretary Erwin Tulfo, DSWD officials said they were processing the release of P10 million each to their regional field offices in Calabarzon, Bicol, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga peninsula, Soccsksargen and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to augment their emergency funds and aid them in providing relief and early recovery assistance to affected local government units (LGUs).

Social Welfare Undersecretary for disaster response management Marco Bautista said the seven regions were identified as the hardest hit by Paeng and immediately need support on relief resources.

DSWD Field Office Bicol regional director Norman Laurio said they are in need of a total of 55,000 family food packs (FFPs) to ensure an adequate supply to affected LGUs in most of the provinces in the region: Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur and Sorsogon.

Laurio added that while they have already put in a request for some 30,000 FFPs last Saturday, he is asking for 25,000 more.

As of yesterday afternoon, government weather forecasts have raised gale-force wind warnings along the coast of Camarines Norte down to Sorsogon.

Laurio said the supply of FFPs could also be a buffer for the regional office for the next weather disturbance.

As of early yesterday morning, the DSWD said P22.3 million worth of humanitarian assistance, composed of FFPs and other non-food items, were provided by the agency to the affected population.

The DSWD recorded a total of 294,938 families, or more than 1.2 million individuals, who are affected by the weather disturbance.

Of the figure, some 39,111 families are currently taking temporary shelter at 1,870 evacuation centers set up by their respective LGUs.

The DSWD also recorded a total of 669 damaged houses, 123 of which are totally damaged, while 546 are partially damaged in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Soccsksargen and Caraga.

The DSWD’s field offices assured that all regional and provincial QRTs are still on alert and ready for possible deployment.

Tulfo said the DSWD has sufficient resources for its disaster relief operations and is ready for possible augmentation to LGUs.

“The DSWD is ready. We have food items. We have non-food items. We have cash,” he added.

As of yesterday morning, the DSWD has stockpiles and standby funds amounting to more than P1.4 billion, of which P450,191,845.05 standby funds are available at the DSWD Central Office in Quezon City and the regional FOs; 535,536 FFPs amounting to more than P335 million; and food and non-food items amounting to P708.6 million.