OVER P500 million worth of food packs and non-food relief items have been provided to more than 1.175 million families or 4.3 million individuals affected by typhoons “Nika,” “Ofel” and “Pepito” last month in 8,026 barangays in eight regions.
This developed as the Disaster Response Command Center of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) lowered its alert level to “white” following the advice of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) to downgrade the emergency alert status for the said typhoons from “blue” to “white,” or the lowest alert level, last November 28.
The DSWD said it would continue to provide assistance to those in need, including those remaining in evacuation centers even with the declaration of a “white” status, which means normal or regular operations with no threats or need for immediate actions.
The NDRRMC also continues to monitor the situation in the typhoon-stricken areas despite the lowest alert status.
DSWD data showed that of yesterday, over P500.04 million worth of humanitarian aid has distributed, including P475.2 million from the agency, P21.4 million from local government units, P3.369 million from non-government organizations and
P61,580 from other partners.
Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian, in a social media post yesterday, said more than a million food packs have been distributed to the affected regions.
There are still 3,553 families or 8,162 persons displaced in Regions II (Cagayan Valley), III (Central Luzon), IV-A (Calabarzon), V (Bicol), VI (Western Visayas) and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) as of yesterday.
This includes the 1,012 families or 3,722 persons who are still taking temporary shelter in 101 evacuation centers and 2,541 families or 8,162 persons who are staying with relatives or friends.
DSWD said 67,267 houses were damaged during the onslaught of the three successive typhoons.
The agency said it still has over P2.2 billion worth of cash and stockpiles of food and non-food relief items like hygiene, cooking and sleeping kits.
