By Junex Doronio
MANILA — Responding swiftly to the request of local government units (LGUs), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has extended more than P64 million worth of family food packs to some 367,809 families or 1,360,623 individuals in the region severely affected by El Niño.
This was announced on Tuesday (14 May 2024) by DSWD Assistant Secretary for Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) Irene Dumlao who said the distribution went smoothly through the help of its Field Office-6 (Western Visayas).
“Through our FO 6, the province of Negros Occidental was provided with 37,367 boxes of family food packs (FFPs), followed by Antique with 33,054 boxes, Iloilo with 18,880, Aklan with 10,707, Capiz with 1,809, and Guimaras with 1,000 boxes,” Dumlao said.
Dumlao, who is also the agency’s spokesperson, said the DSWD is intensifying its efforts to swiftly dispatch FFPs in the region based on the request of local government units (LGUs).
“We have to double our efforts as the Department of Agriculture reported that Western Visayas is among the 12 most affected regions by the dry spell. To date, we have prepositioned P11.9 million worth of FFPs in Region 6,” she pointed out.
The DSWD Western Visayas regional office currently maintains more than P96.7 million worth of stockpiles of relief supplies and standby funds ready to be used for disaster operations.
It was learned that the Disaster Response Management Division of FO-6 continues to coordinate with other LGUs for the immediate release and distribution of relief supplies in their localities.
As of press time, some 367,809 families or 1,360,623 individuals have been affected by the drought in Region 6.
(el amigo/MNM)
