DSWD allocates P69.45 million for Tino-hit families

MANILA, Philippines —  The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has provided over P69.45 million worth of humanitarian aid to families affected by Typhoon Tino in the Visayas and Mindanao, an official reported yesterday.

Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Irene Dumlao of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group said the agency continues to deliver relief assistance through two parallel supply chains – one government-driven and another private sector-driven – under the Buong Bansa Handa (BBH) program.

Through prepositioned relief goods under the BBH program, more than 123,000 family food packs (FFPs) have been distributed to affected individuals, while non-food items and ready-to-eat food boxes were provided to evacuees.

A mobile kitchen deployed in Matnog Port, Sorsogon also served hot meals to stranded passengers.

Dumlao noted that the DSWD’s major hubs are producing 18,000 to 20,000 FFPs daily with the help of the newly installed mechanized production system.

She also announced that the DSWD is preparing to roll out its emergency cash transfer (ECT) program to further assist families affected by the typhoon.

The program will allow households to buy additional food supplies or materials for repairing damaged homes once validation and coordination with affected local government units (LGUs) are completed.

The implementation of the ECT will depend on the declaration of a state of calamity, confirmation of market functionality and completion of a post-disaster needs assessment, which will determine the extent of recovery assistance required.

While relief operations for Typhoon Tino are ongoing, the DSWD is also closely monitoring the approaching tropical cyclone Uwan, which could intensify into a super typhoon as it enters the Philippine area of responsibility over the weekend.

Archbishop Alberto Uy, meanwhile, has urged all parishes in Cebu to extend acts of charity and compassion to families affected by heavy flooding caused by the typhoon.

The United States, Canada and Australia have expressed readiness to assist the Philippines in ongoing relief and recovery operations after Typhoon Tino battered the Visayas, leaving at least 66 people dead. – Evelyn Macairan, Pia Lee-Brago