DSWD monitors status of families displaced by Surigao quake

Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo said Tuesday that DSWD-CARAGA officer-in-charge, regional director Mita Chuchi-Lim, met with Surigao City Mayor Ernesto Matugas and barangay captains on Monday to discuss the status of relief distribution and additional assistance needed by the city government from the department. (Photo: Presidential Communications (Government of the Philippines)/ Facebook)

MANILA –The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is monitoring the situation of some 1,567 families or 7,835 persons still staying in open areas near their houses following the 6.7-magnitude quake that shook Surigao City last Friday, as well as the 74 families or 370 persons who were displaced and remain in tents at the Provincial Capitol grounds.

Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo said Tuesday that DSWD-CARAGA officer-in-charge, regional director Mita Chuchi-Lim, met with Surigao City Mayor Ernesto Matugas and barangay captains on Monday to discuss the status of relief distribution and additional assistance needed by the city government from the department.

The department as of Tuesday has already provided a total of PHP6.98 million worth of assistance to families in Surigao City and has sought donations for quake victims.

Meanwhile, Taguiwalo said her department, through its Disaster Response Assistance and Management Bureau, has drafted an action plan, dubbed ‘Oplan Linog’, to help DSWD-Caraga ensure fast and efficient delivery of relief assistance to the areas hit by the earthquake.