Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian visited Capiz, including Roxas City, on Tuesday to assess the extent of damage and coordinate response efforts with local government units following the impact of Tropical Storm Ramil.
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.
In a press conference following his meeting with Roxas City Mayor Ronnie Dadivas, he announced that DSWD will provide PHP10,000 emergency cash assistance to each affected family so they can already purchase other things they need.
“Kasi, sa ganito kalawak na sakuna, alam natin na hindi lahat na kailangan ng isang biktima nasa family food packs (With this massive disaster, not all of the victim’s needs are in the family food packs),” he said.
Gatchalian said they are waiting for the local government unit to provide them with a list of the more or less 15,000 to 17,000 affected families, and start the distribution of cash aid to the first 5,000 verified families.
“Ang target natin sana in the next 48 to 72 hours, mag-pay out na (Our target is to have the payout in the next 48 to 72 hours),” he said.
“We’ll coordinate with local government to ensure na no one is left out,” he added.
Gatchalian earlier led the distribution of 1,000 family food packs (FFPs) to affected families in Barangay Tiza.
He also met with the provincial government of Capiz led by Governor Fredenil Castro and other local officials.
Joining Gatchalian were Undersecretary Diana Rose Cajipe and Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG), and DSWD Field Office 6 (Western Visayas) Regional Director Joselito Estember.
26K food packs sent to Western Visayas, other regions hit by Ramil
Meanwhile, Dumlao said the DSWD has provided over PHP20 million worth of humanitarian aid, including 26,000 boxes FFPs, to Ramil-hit families in Western Visayas and other regions.
The bulk of the total FFPs dispatched, or 21,000 boxes, were sent to Western Visayas, specifically in the provinces of Capiz and Iloilo which bore the brunt of Ramil.
“More than 21,000 boxes have been distributed in 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 (More than 16,000 FFPs have been sent to Capiz, 4,000 in Iloilo, and then we have also sent FFPs to Aklan, and the rest to the other regions),” the DSWD spokesperson said in a radio interview.
Aside from the FFPs, the DSWD also provided ready-to-eat food (RTEF) boxes for those stranded in different ports.
Dumlao reiterated that 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.
The DSWD will provide the ECT as soon as concerned local government units have submitted their master lists of affected constituents. (PNA)