DSWD assures continuing relief for quake victims

FILE: Sec. Rolando Bautista checked the condition of families staying at the evacuation center in the village of Meohao in Kidapawan City, North Cotabatao on Friday (Nov. 8, 2019). Secretary Bautista assured the government will provide all the needs of earthquake survivors in the province of North Cotabato. (Photo courtesy of Jeoffrey Maitem, DSWD via PNA)

MANILA — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Monday assured that victims of the series of earthquakes that hit Tulunan, North Cotabato and other parts of Mindanao last month are continuously getting assistance.

“As of 6 p.m. on November 10, the agency has given PHP38.8 million worth of aid to the 260,492 persons affected by the disaster from Regions 11 and 12,” said DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao in an interview.

“The food [grocery] packs that we give last for two days, so we give another batch each time. Depending on the assistance needed by the victims because it varies,” she said.

The DSWD Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC) reported a total of 53,362 families or 260,492 persons were affected by the earthquake incidents in 317 barangays in Davao Region and Soccsksargen.

Of these, 11,830 families or 56,646 persons are taking temporary shelter in 75 evacuation centers.

Dumlao also acknowledged the efforts of private groups and individuals who extended help to the victims on the initiative.

“[Modernity has really improved] our transfer of information and level of awareness. It is heartwarming to know that there is assistance coming from the private sector,” she added.

On Friday, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rolando Bautista made another visit to Kidapawan City, North Cotabato to personally oversee the department’s continuous relief operations to affected families and individuals.

Bautista first visited the province on October 30, a day after a 6.6-magnitude earthquake jolted central and southern Mindanao, to lead the provision of relief assistance to the survivors and assess the impact of the disaster.

Upon arrival in Koronadal City, he visited Erlinda Narciso, wife of Nestor Narciso, one of the fatalities in the earthquake to console and give cash assistance.

In Tulunan town, the DSWD chief condoled with the family of Maricel Marla, a pregnant woman who passed away during the tremor and extended financial assistance, aside from the burial assistance provided by the agency.

The Narciso and Marla families are just two of the 18 bereaved families in North Cotabato who were provided with burial assistance ranging from PHP5,000 to PHP10,000 under the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program.

Likewise, 15 injured individuals were given financial assistance through AICS.

AICS serves as a social safety net or a stop-gap measure to support the recovery of individuals and families suffering from unexpected life events or crises.

Meanwhile, the DSWD Field Office 12 has deployed additional personnel in various evacuation centers in North Cotabato to help in camp management and coordination, and in gathering information on the needs of the displaced families.