Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian has ordered the agency’s Field Office (FO) – National Capital Region (NCR) to extend immediate assistance to the residents of Isla Puting Bato in Tondo, Manila whose houses were razed by a huge fire early morning of Sunday (November 24).
Upon learning of the fire incident, Secretary Gatchalian directed FO-NCR Director Michael Joseph Lorico to immediately coordinate with the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) of Manila, and identify what forms of interventions can be rendered by the DSWD.
In Director Lorico’s latest report to the DSWD chief, he said the FO’s Quick Response Team (QRT) already arrived at the nearby evacuation center where the fire-hit families have taken temporary shelter.
“May initial visit na po ang Quick Response Team natin in an evacuation center in Del Pan, where affected families are currently taking temporary shelter,” Director Lorico told Secretary Gatchalian in a text message.
Director Lorico said the QRT members have started pulling out family food packs (FFPs) from the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City for immediate dispatch to Isla Puting Bato.
Aside from providing food supplies, the Department deployed the FO-NCR Mobile Command Center (MCC) to provide the affected families with Wifi connection and electricity source to connect with their friends and loved ones.
The DSWD QRT members are also set to assist the local government unit (LGU) of Manila in the conduct of Rapid Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (RDANA) to determine the extent of damage and appropriate immediate response to aid the affected population.
