AT least 24,501 families or 95,105 persons have been displaced in six regions following the onslaught of tropical depression Dodong, including 2,508 who are still staying in 61 evacuation centers, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said.
Data from the DSWD’s Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC) said that 67,222 families or 248,834 persons from 294 barangays in Regions I (Ilocos), III (Central Luzon), IV-A (Calabarzon), IV-B (Mimaropa), V (Bicol), VI (Western Visayas), VIII (Eastern Visayas) and the National Capital Region (NCR) were affected by the tropical depression.
Of these, 24,501 were displaced in Regions I, III, IV-A, VI, VIII and NCR, which includes 694 families (2,508 persons) currently staying in evacuation centers and 23,807 families (92,597 persons) who are temporarily staying with their relatives or friends.
Dodong, which exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility last July 15, also damaged 117 houses.
The DSWD said more than P1.82 million worth of assistance has been provided to the affected families.
It also has P2.049 billion worth of funds (P177.86 million) and stockpiles (P1.87 million) of family food packs and non-food relief items on standby.
ANTIPOLO LANDSLIDE
The DSWD has also distributed P95,696 worth of assistance to 22 families affected by a landslide in Barangay Santa Cruz in Antipolo City
Apart from family food packs, hygiene and sleeping kits, the DSWD Calabarzon Field Office also provided P10,000 cash aid per family under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS).
The DSWD also distributed more than P5.3 million worth of cash aid under AICS in Central Luzon.
The Department distributed more than P2 million in Pandi, Bulacan which benefited 673 beneficiaries; more than P2.8 million in North Cabiao, Nueva Ecija which benefited 947 beneficiaries; P117,000 in Cabanatuan City which benefited 30 indigent individuals; and P452,000 in San Fernando, Pampanga that benefited 226 beneficiaries.
AICS is a regular DSWD program that provides medical, burial, transportation, food and non-food assistance in the form of outright cash to aid the recovery of poor, vulnerable, and disadvantaged individuals or families during unexpected life situations.
As of June this year, P5.3 million people have already benefitted from the AICS at the start of the Marcos administration.
DSWD Assistant Secretary and spokesman Romel Lopez said this is composed of the 3.47 million AICS recipients served from July to December 2022 and the 1.8 million individuals served from January to June this year.
“The DSWD facilitated the request for various types of assistance from more than 5.3 million individuals who experienced unexpected crises such as illness or death of a family member, natural and man-made disasters, and other emergencies,” Lopez said.
