ILOILO City – As of Jan. 3, 16,935 typhoon-displaced families (84,458 individuals) were still in various evacuation centers in the provinces of Iloilo and Negros Occidental, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The latest report submitted to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) on Jan. 4 showed that one family was from Iloilo province and the rest of the evacuees were from Negros Occidental devastated by super typhoon “Odette”.
DSWD Disaster Response Management Division (DRMD) information officer Therese Fely Legaste said the department released P37.066-million worth of assistance.
Relief goods distributed included 67,277 family food packs that were augmented to requesting local government units (LGUs), 1,400 pieces of non-food items such as sleeping and hygiene kits for those still staying in evacuation centers, and 6,621 bottled waters.
Part of the support was the assistance to 36 individuals in crisis situations, either as burial or medical aid amounting to PHP438,000.
The LGUs are in charge of distributing the assistance, giving priority to families in evacuation centers and those displaced victims staying with their relatives.
The bulk of the assistance, around P20 million, was sent to hard-hit Negros Occidental and Bacolod City.
“Most of those who availed themselves of bottled water and non-food items were displaced families from Negros Occidental, particularly Candoni, Ilog, Kabankalan and Sipalay,” Legaste added.
DSWD also sent 7,324 family food packs to Antique; 2,944 to Aklan; 4,610 to Capiz; 2,800 to Guimaras; 12,537 to Iloilo province; 112 to Iloilo City; and 1,900 food packs to Bacolod City.
As of 5 p.m. of Jan. 3, DSWD had 23,470 ready food packs in various pre-position sites in Capiz and Iloilo Province.
“In case we have big requests, especially coming from Negros Occidental we also have augmentation from the central office,” she added.
The food packs being sent to Negros Occidental were being sourced from the DSWD central office and from the warehouses and preposition sites of Dumarao, Capiz, and Iloilo towns of Carles and San Rafael since those prepositioned on Bago, Negros Occidental were already distributed.
Legaste said they were waiting for the directive from their central office if financial assistance would be extended to those whose houses were damaged by the typhoon.
Of the 264,321 damaged houses, some 54,355 were totally destroyed and the rest were damaged. (PNA)
