To ensure that no communities are left out in the aftermath of Severe Tropical Storm (STS) Kristine, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is scaling up relief efforts with local government units (LGUs) and other national government agencies (NGAs) for areas that were isolated due to the widespread impact of the recent storm.
“Earlier today [October 30], personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) loaded additional family food packs (FFPs) in a helicopter of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) to be brought to Barangay Itangon and Caorasan in the Municipality of Bula in Camarines Sur,” Special Assistant to the Secretary (SAS) for Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) and Concurrent Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the National Resource and Logistics Management Bureau (NRLMB) Leo Quintilla said.
These barangays were unreachable at the height of STS Kristine due to landslides and heavy flooding in the areas, according to SAS Quintilla.
In a related development, personnel of the Philippine Air Force also loaded 900 boxes of FFPs onto a PAF C-130 aircraft on Wednesday (October 30) at the Villamor Air Base also bound for the Bicol Region.
“Under the instructions of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr as well as directives of DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, we are mobilizing all our resources and manpower para masiguro na wala tayong malalampasang indibidwal o pamilyang apektado ng bagyo. We are doing all of this, of course, in convergence with the workforce of BFP and logistical support by the Air Force,” SAS Quintilla explained.
As the DSWD continues its disaster response operations for STS Kristine, the agency is also intensifying its preparedness for Super Typhoon Leon, especially in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley).
SAS Quintilla said that before Typhoon Leon entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), the DSWD loaded 5,500 boxes of FFPs to a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship at Pier 13 in the Port of Manila bound for Batanes.
“Our personnel from the DSWD Field Office (FO) 2 – Cagayan Valley are also facilitating the pre-emptive evacuation of 14 families who are currently staying at a Child Development Center in Barangay San Antonio in Basco, Batanes,” the DSWD official said.
In an October 30 Facebook post of DSWD FO-2, it said that 500 FFPs have arrived in Sta. Teresita, Cagayan to augment the resources of the municipal government for its constituents who were affected by Kristine and as standby relief for those who would be affected by Leon.
The FO also facilitated the delivery of another 500 boxes of FFPs to the town of Solano in Nueva Vizcaya as relief support for the LGU.
All DSWD FOs along the path of Super Typhoon Leon are on alert status to render swift disaster response for localities that will be affected by the latest weather disturbance.
