TACLOBAN CITY– Over P272 million worth of humanitarian aid was provided by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to the families affected by the shearline that struck Eastern Visayas last November.
This was declared by Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs Irene Dumlao who said that the aid provided to the affected families included family food packs (FFPs), non-food items, and cash through the agency’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program.
A total of 323,301 food boxes amounting to more than P222 million were distributed by the DSWD to the affected families from the provinces of Biliran, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Samar, and Southern Leyte.
“The DSWD Eastern Visayas is continuously coordinating with the National Resource Operations Center on the delivery of the requested additional FFPs intended for the affected families,” she said in a statement.
Some 584 hygiene kits and 72 kitchen kits were also distributed to the families affected by the weather disturbance in Northern Samar and Samar provinces, Dumlao added.
“Aside from food packs, the DSWD also provided cash assistance to allow the affected families to buy or purchase other necessities in their preference,” she said.
According to Dumlao, some 17,331 beneficiaries from Northern Samar received financial assistance from the DSWD, with a total disbursement of P49.99 million.
Northern Samar was the hard-hit area during the flooding incident, killing four people and displacing tens of thousands of families.
“We are in constant communication with the affected localities so we can facilitate their augmentation requests as soon as possible,” Dumlao said. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
