On orders of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian flies to Capiz province on Tuesday (October 21) to assess the ground situation and harmonize government response in the aftermath of the heavy rains and floods spawned by Tropical Storm ‘Ramil.’
Upon arrival, the DSWD chief met with local government officials led by Capiz province First District Rep. Howard Guintu, Roxas City Mayor Ronnie Dadivas and Vice Mayor Teresa Almalbis, assuring them of the sustained provision of family food packs (FFPs) and non-food items (NFIs) to support ongoing relief operations across disaster-hit communities.
Secretary Gatchalian also joined local executives in briefing the media on the government’s continuing response and package of relief assistance to be delivered to affected communities in the coming days.
Undersecretary Diana Rose Cajipe and Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) accompanied the DSWD chief. (LSJ)
DSWD chief, Capiz gov discuss relief, recovery efforts for ‘Ramil’-hit Capizeños
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Tuesday (October 21) meets with Capiz Governor Fredenil Castro and other local officials to discuss the much-needed relief and recovery efforts for Capizenos following the impact of Tropical Storm ‘Ramil.’
Secretary Gatchalian assured Capiz local officials the DSWD will be sending more family food packs (FFPs) to support the needs of storm-battered communities, in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s order to ensure that no Filipino would go hungry in times of calamities and emergencies.
Preparations for the DSWD’s financial aid under the Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) are also being discussed with concerned local government units (LGUs), especially for LGUs that placed their areas under a State of Calamity. (LSJ)
DSWD chief assures all-out aid for TS Ramil-hit Capizeños
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Tuesday (October 21) visited evacuation centers across Capiz province where he assured families affected by Tropical Storm (TS) Ramil of timely and all-out government response to help them cope and recover.
In his visit to an evacuation center in Barangay Tiza in Roxas City, Secretary Gatchalian personally distributed 1,000 family food packs (FFPs) to the evacuees.
The DSWD chief told the evacuees that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has instructed him to check on the condition of families most affected by the heavy flooding and rain triggered by the recent cyclone.
“Mula Sabado hanggang kaninang umaga, panay ang tawag at text ng ating Pangulo para mabigyan ko siya ng update kung kamusta raw ho kayo dito. At kung ano-ano yung mga dapat nating gawin para matugunan ‘yong mga pangangailangan niyo dahil sa pinsala nitong bagyong Ramil,” Secretary Gatchalian told the evacuees.
Several barangays in Roxas City were among the communities heavily battered by TS Ramil. A month’s worth of rainfall was dumped in just 6 hours which has affected a total of 34,889 families or 129,348 individuals from 235 barangays in the province of Capiz.
The DSWD has so far provided over 26,000 boxes of FFPs to regions hit by TS Ramil, where 16,578 boxes have been released to Capiz province alone.
More will be released to support the continuing local relief operations, pointed out by Secretary Gatchalian.
“Sa ating Mayor Ronnie Dadivas, nag-usap kami ni Regional Director, ‘yong mga request niyong food packs, mag-coordinate po dyan sa inyo para yung mga residente niyo na naapektuhan ay mabigyan mo agad sa mabilis na panahon,” Secretary Gatchalian told the Roxas City mayor during a meeting.
Secretary Gatchalian told the evacuees the DSWD is already preparing for the roll-out of financial assistance, given the impact of the weather disturbance on the properties and livelihoods of the affected families.
“Pangalawa, makikipag-ugnayan din ho kami sa inyong local ng pamahalaan, dala lang po nag declare na ng State of Calamity ang ating bayan. At doon naman ho, nakakatulong kami sa tulong pinansyal para naman doon sa mga naapektuhan para makabangon ho tayong muli,” Secretary Gatchalian said.
The financial assistance will be sourced from the Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) of the DSWD. The ECT is an adaptive strategy that provides unconditional cash aid to disaster-affected families to bridge the gap between immediate disaster relief, humanitarian response, and early recovery support in disasters and emergencies.
The DSWD chief also made rounds of evacuation centers in the towns of Panay and Pontevedra.
Secretary Gatchalian is set to cap off the day with the distribution of FFPs in the municipalities of Panitan and Sigma in the province.
To ensure harmonized response from both the local and national governments, coordination meetings with local chief executives (LCEs) were also part of Secretary Gatchalian’s day-long visit to Capiz. (LSJ)
DSWD chief brings relief aid to storm-battered residents in Roxas City
Families hit by Tropical Cyclone ‘Ramil’ who are currently staying at an evacuation center in Barangay Tiza in Roxas City, Capiz find reason to smile and applaud as Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian visited them on Tuesday (October 21).
Continuing the relief operations in the area, Secretary Gatchalian was assisted by Roxas City Mayor Ronnie Dadivas in the distribution of 1,000 family food packs (FFPs) to the evacuees. The DSWD chief also conveyed the assurance of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. that extending aid to disaster-hit Capizeños remains among the government’s top priorities amid the series of calamities in various parts of the country.
Joining Secretary Gatchalian in his Capiz visit were Undersecretary Diana Rose Cajipe and Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG), and DSWD Field Office (FO) 6 – Western Visayas Regional Director (RD) Joselito Estember. (LSJ)
DSWD chief checks on TS Ramil evacuees in Panay, Pontevedra towns
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Tuesday (October 21) joins the personnel of Field Office 6-Western Visayas in handing out family food packs (FFPs) to evacuees staying at the Panay Civic Center in the Municipality of Panay, Capiz.
The DSWD chief took time to check families displaced by Tropical Storm (TS) ‘Ramil’ and assured them that the government will always bring the much-needed aid and lead them toward recovery, in line with the instructions of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
This was also Secretary Gatchalian’s message as he proceeded to another evacuation center in Pontevedra town where he interacted with children staying in child-friendly spaces (CFS) set up by the DSWD’s camp coordinators. The DSWD chief also visited an evacuation center in Roxas City earlier.
Joining Secretary Gatchalian in the site visits were Undersecretary Diana Rose Cajipe and Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG), along with several local government officials. (LSJ)
DSWD gives out 26,000 food packs to Western Visayas, other regions hit by TS Ramil
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has provided over Php20 million in humanitarian aid, including 26,000 boxes of family food packs (FFPs), to families hit by Tropical Storm ‘Ramil’ in Western Visayas and other regions.
“Batay po sa aming 6 a.m. monitoring, umabot na sa 20 million pesos worth ‘yong initial na tulong na naipaabot sa ating mga kababayan. And of course, we expect these numbers to increase sapagkat ang tulong po natin ay nagpapatuloy,” Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao of the Disaster Response and Management Group (DRMG) said in an interview over DZBB on Tuesday (October 21).
Asst. Secretary Dumlao, who is also the DSWD’s spokesperson, said the amount of humanitarian aid included 26,000 boxes of family food packs (FFPs) already distributed to affected localities as augmentation support to ensure that the basic needs of internally displaced persons (IDP) are met.
The bulk of the total FFPs dispatched comprising 21,000 boxes were sent to Western Visayas, specifically in the provinces of Capiz and Iloilo which bore the brunt of TS Ramil.
“More than 21,000 boxes have been distributed sa Region 6. Ang breakdown po niyan more than 16,000 FFPs in Capiz, more than 4,000 in Iloilo, and then, meron din kaming naipahatid dito sa Aklan. And the rest,of course, sa mga ibang regions na po,” the DSWD spokesperson told DZBB.
Aside from the FFPs, the DSWD also provided ready-to-eat food (RTEF) boxes for those stranded in different ports. This is aligned with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. that no disaster-affected individual will go hungry.
“Alam niyo po sa kautusan ni Pangulong Marcos Jr. tinitiyak natin na walang pamilyang Pilipino ang magugutom sa gitna ng kalamidad, and wala rin pong maiiwanan,” Asst. Secretary Dumlao told the program anchors.
Asst. Secretary Dumlao said the DSWD is now preparing for the provision of cash aid under the Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) program to support the early recovery of those affected by the tropical cyclone.
The ECT is an adaptive strategy by the DSWD that aims to bridge the gap between immediate disaster relief, humanitarian response, and early recovery support in disasters and emergencies by providing unconditional cash assistance to disaster-affected families that require intervention.
“Ito po kasing financial assistance [ECT] na ito, maaaring gamitin ng ating mga kababayan na pambili ng mga iba pang food requirements na hindi po nilalaman ng ating mga family food packs. Maaari din nilang gamitin ito sa pambili ng mga pangangailangan ng kanilang mga anak,” Asst. Secretary Dumlao said.
“Flexible kasi itong emergency cash transfer and it also empowers yung mga kababayan natin to make the right choices sa paggamit ng assistance na ipapahatid na. Maaari din nilang gamitin ito sa pagsasaayos ng kanilang mga nasirang tahanan o nasirang mga kabuhayan,” the DSWD spokesperson explained to DZBB.
The DSWD will provide the ECT as soon as concerned local government units (LGUs) have submitted their master lists of affected constituents. (AKDL)
