The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has given out a total of ₱717,449,727.19 as humanitarian aid for victims of the onslaught of the Southwest Monsoon or “Habagat” and recent tropical cyclones, it said on Tuesday.
During a press briefing at Malacañang, Welfare Chief Rex Gatchalian disclosed that the department has supplied a total of 1,057,972 Family Food Packs (FFPs), a total of 17,291 Ready-To-Eat Food, and 12,740 Non-Food Items (NFIs).
Additionally, the cash aid disbursed through the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program now amounts to ₱2,253,000.00.
Due to the limitations of local government units’ (LGUs) capabilities to provide much-needed relief for their constituents, the Welfare Department has stepped in to supply the FFPs, Gatchalian said.
“We project the numbers to keep on going up kasi, even as of this morning, we’re still getting new requests for augmentation ng mga local government units. Remember, the last mile o ‘yung pag-distribute sa mga residente, responsibilidad ‘yan ng mga local government units,” he told reporters.
Currently, the department has logged a national stockpile of FFPs at 4,228,458. About a week ago, this figure was around 5.2 million—one million having been released as of Gatchalian’s report.
“To assure everybody, the production plants are running in full scale, so hindi ‘yan bababa ng malubhang malaki,” he said.
The DSWD head said the Luzon repacking center is currently running at 22,000 FFPs daily, while the Visayas repacking center will soon be catching up to this number.
Addressing victims of the recent calamities, Gatchalian said they need not worry, as there is enough food stocked all across the country—with supplies to be replenished continuously.
“Ang message namin: Hindi dapat mag-alala ang ating mga kababayan, may sapat na pagkain na nakaimbak sa mga bodega ng DSWD nationwide. This number will continue to grow,” he said.
So far, the DSWD recorded 4,516 affected barangays, 1,539,614 affected families, and 5,394,342 affected individuals.
Families presently taking shelter in the 461 open evacuation centers have reached 12,194, with the total number of individuals now at 42,203.
