The assistance extended to families affected by the southwest monsoon and Severe Tropical Storm “Crising” across Western Visayas and Negros Occidental had reached over P20.62 million as of noon yesterday.
In a report, the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office 6 (DSWD FO-6) said the agency has released P15.69 million worth of family food packs and over P200,000 in non-food items as it continues its relief operations in Panay and Negros Occidental.
Additionally, over P3.73 million in humanitarian assistance was provided by local government units (LGUs) and non-governmental organizations.
The DSWD Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Communication (DROMIC) report said the inclement weather affected 77,997 families, or 284,812 individuals, from 544 barangays in Panay and Negros Occidental.
Of the total, 1,943 families are currently in evacuation centers while 11,381 others opted to stay with their relatives and friends.
A child-friendly space (CFS) is provided in the evacuation centers, carrying out psychosocial support activities for children to help them cope with the impact of the weather disturbances.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Civil Defense Western Visayas (OCD-6) has already released P1.2 million upon the request of LGUs.
“We have non-food items prepositioned all over Western Visayas. Upon the request of local government units supported by their situational report showing their affected families, we can release assistance,” OCD-6 spokesperson Maria Cristina Mayor said in an interview.
In its report to the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council operations center, the Department of Public Works and Highways recorded eight damaged roads and bridges, worth around P52.87 million.
Six of the damaged infrastructures were from Antique and two from Aklan.
“We expect changes in our figures, especially since not all of our local government units have submitted their report,” Mayor said.
The search and retrieval operations for three missing persons from Antique also continue.
Meanwhile, the DSWD assured it has sufficient resources to support continuous response efforts in the region amid the threat of a low pressure area inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), which may develop into a tropical cyclone.
As of yesterday, DSWD FO-6 has P128.75 million worth of family food packs and a standby fund of P2.79 million. (PNA)