Camarines Sur: The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is scaling up relief efforts with local government units (LGUs) and other national government agencies (NGAs) for areas isolated due to the widespread impact of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name Trami), a senior official of the agency said on Wednesday.
According to Philippines News Agency, Special Assistant to the Secretary (SAS) for Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) and Concurrent Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the National Resource and Logistics Management Bureau (NRLMB) Leo Quintilla, this is to ensure that no communities are left out in the aftermath of Kristine. “Earlier today [Oct. 30], personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) loaded additional family food packs (FFPs) in a helicopter of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) to be brought to Barangay Itangon and Caorasan in the Municipality of Bula in Camarines Sur,” Quintilla said in a news release.
These barangays, he added, were unreachable at the heig
ht of Kristine due to landslides and heavy flooding. In a related development, PAF personnel also loaded 900 boxes of FFPs onto a PAF C-130 aircraft at the Villamor Air Base for delivery to the Bicol Region.
“Under the instructions of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., as well as directives of DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, we are mobilizing all our resources and manpower para masiguro na wala tayong malalampasang indibidwal o pamilyang apektado ng bagyo (to ensure that no affected family or individual will be left out). We are doing all of this, of course, in convergence with the workforce of BFP and logistical support by the Air Force,” Quintilla said.
Meanwhile, the DSWD is also intensifying its preparedness for Super Typhoon Leon (international name Kong-Rey), especially in Cagayan Valley. Quintilla said that before Leon entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), the DSWD loaded 5,500 boxes of FFPs to a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship at Pier 13 in the Port of Manila bound for Batanes.
“Our personnel from the DSWD Field Office (FO) 2 – Cagayan Valley are also facilitating the preemptive evacuation of 14 families who are currently staying at a Child Development Center in Barangay San Antonio in Basco, Batanes,” the DSWD official said.
In an Oct. 30 Facebook post of DSWD FO-2, it said that 500 FFPs have arrived in Sta. Teresita, Cagayan to augment the resources of the municipal government for its constituents affected by Kristine, and as standby relief for those who would be affected by Leon. The field office also facilitated the delivery of another 500 boxes of FFPs to the town of Solano in Nueva Vizcaya as relief support for the LGU.
Quintilla said all DSWD FOs along the path of Leon are on alert status to render swift disaster response for localities that will be affected by the latest weather disturbance.