By Zaldy De Layola
MANILA – Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Wednesday assured to provide Cebuanos greatly affected by the 6.9 magnitude earthquake with food and water.
“Kami kasi maraming kailangang gawin for recovery pero ang instruction sa amin ng Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. lagi ay siguraduhin natin na yung immediate, yung kailangan nila ngayon, yun na muna. So the relief, the immediate needs ang tutugunan natin (We need to do many things for recovery but the instruction of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. always is to ensure the immediate needs that they should have now, that first. So the relief, the immediate needs are what we have to provide),” Gatchalian told reporters during his rounds in Bogo City, Cebu —the area hardest hit by Tuesday’s tremor.
Gatchalian had to fly to Cebu straight from the Severe Tropical Storm Opong-devastated Masbate province, where he and Marcos personally led the distribution of various aids including family food packs (FFPs) for the victims displaced by the typhoon.
Immediately after the earthquake, boxes of FFPs loaded in wing vans were sent to Bogo City. Ready-to-eat food (RTEF) boxes, containing food that requires minimal preparation, are set to be distributed to the affected families, according to Gatchalian.
More aid is expected to pour in to ensure sustained relief efforts in the area, he added.
The DSWD, Gatchalian said, has over 300,000 boxes of FFPs stockpiled in the Visayas Disaster Resource Center in Mandaue City.
“Aside from the food assistance, the Department will also deploy its disaster response vehicles and equipment, composed of Mobile Command Centers (MMC), mobile kitchen, mobile water treatment, and water tanker trucks,” he said, adding that all of these will have been in the area by 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Gatchalian assured the provincial local government of Cebu that the DSWD’s Field Office 7–Central Visayas will provide cash aid under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program. Benefits under the AICS include medical assistance to the injured locals and burial assistance for families who lost their loved ones from the powerful quake.
The department is also preparing psychosocial intervention to help the affected families and individuals deal with the trauma caused by the tremor.
For the recovery phase, the DSWD chief said the agency will provide emergency cash assistance as soon as the verified list of beneficiaries is provided by the concerned local government units.
“For rebuilding, we will always resort to emergency cash transfers. Cash ito na ibinibigay sa mga pamilya (It will be given in cash to the families) so they can buy what they want to prioritize, whether it’s rebuilding their homes, rebuilding their livelihood, ready na rin yun (that’s also ready),” Gatchalian said as he instructed all DSWD field offices to be on stand-by and their personnel ready to be deployed to augment manpower and resources in the area.
As of posting time, more than 27,000 families in 42 barangays have been affected by the Sept. 30 temblor. The number of affected families is expected to increase, as the assessment is still ongoing. (PNA)
