ILOILO – President Rodrigo Duterte distributed P3.6-million worth of emergency relief assistance on Saturday to the people of Pontevedra and Panit-an towns in Capiz province displaced by tropical depression “Agaton”.
“Si DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) will be here as long as there are people who cannot eat o wala silang pagkain. We will sustain the food,” said the President.
The distribution of assistance was held at Pontevedra Elementary School. It included family food packs, hygiene kits, sleeping kits, kitchen kits, and clean drinking water.
DSWD Region 6 has so far validated 374 displaced families in Pontevedra and Panit-an, said Regional Director Evelyn Macapobre.
“Agaton” drenched Capiz and parts of northern Iloilo province with torrential rains from April 10 to 12.
President Duterte also released to each of the 374 families P5,000 cash assistance.
He assured them, too, that the government will help them rebuild their damaged houses.
For this, he tasked the National Housing Authority and Department of Public Works and Highways to take appropriate steps.
Duterte also released 100 modular tents to the local government of Pontevedra for the use of evacuees.
For his Pontevedra sortie, the President was accompanied by DSWD secretary Rolando Joselito Bautista and Sen. Christopher Lawrence Go.
“Sa mga nabiktima po ng baha, nakikiramay po ang DSWD…Pero ganun pa man, sabi nga ni Presidente…walang iwanan. Hangga’t naghihirap kayo, hangga’t nangangailangan kayo ng pagkain, nasa tabi (at) kaagapay ninyo ang DSWD,” Bautista assured the recipients.
The number of people displaced by “Agaton” is expected to further rise; DSWD-6’s validation is continuing as more LGUs submit their reports.
DSWD-6 has actually already released P4.3-million worth of assistance to Capiz, said Macapobre. These included 8,800 food packs, hygiene kits, sleeping kits, kitchen kits, and bottled water.
In the succeeding days, DSWD-6 personnel will go to more affected municipalities that have already complied with the requirements set for their availment of the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS).
“Since our fund is limited, we will prioritize those who are really in need depending on the availability of funds,” said Macapobre, adding that they only release funds based on the list from LGUs.
If there are late submissions, DSWD-6 will continue to accept and forward these to their central office for appropriate action.
Macapobre also said that even if it is election season, their Department is exempted from the poll spending ban.
The Capiz Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), in its April 16 report, said that 107 barangays in the province were still flooded as of 11 a.m. and 64,447 families or 259,731 individuals were still staying in evacuation centers.
Further, 11 deaths have been recorded, seven were still missing, and 196 suffered injuries of which three were admitted to hospitals.
The PDRRMC, during their April 12 meeting, agreed to declare Capiz under state of calamity pending the resolution of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
Over the whole Western Visayas, DSWD-6 has so far released P26,508,721 worth of assistance. Here’s the breakdown:
* 43,233 family food packs worth P21,282,978
* 200 modular tents worth P878,000
* 2,341 non-food relief items such as hygiene kits, sleeping kits and kitchen kits worth P3,768,213.50
* 4,818 bottles of water worth P409,530
* financial assistance totaling P230,000./PN
