BAGUIO CITY (PIA) – – Department of Social Welfare and Development – Cordillera Regional Field Office (DSWD – CAR) Regional Director Leo Quintilla assures there are enough resources that are strategically prepositioned and ready for augmentation of the disaster response/relief operations needs of local government units in the region.
Quintilla, who is the Vice Chairperson for Disaster Response of the Cordillera Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CRDRRMC), made the assurance during the virtual CRDRRMC Disaster Response Cluster meeting on Sunday relative to Tropical Cyclone Paeng.
Quintilla shared that DSWD – CAR has currently 59,560 Family Food Packs (FFPs) and 40,196 non – food items (NFIs) prepositioned in the regional and satellite warehouses as well as in provincial and municipal LGUs.
DSWD – CAR also has a standby of P5.5 million that is ready for use to purchase addition response/relief materials that will be needed in case of any disaster or emergency. There is also a P30 million AICS (Assistance in Crisis Situation) fund that can be used to provide immediate assistance to disaster victims, he added.
Quintilla said the DSWD – CAR, in coordination with the Response Cluster member agencies, is set to bring additional FFPs and NFIs to Abra as part of the response actions and assistance to the affected population of the recent Magnitude 6.4 earthquake which epicenter was located in the municipality of Lagayan.
Additional FFPs and NFIs will also be delivered to Apayao to augment the response and relief operations of the LGUs that were badly affected by flooding incidents caused by the series of tropical cyclones the past weeks.
Quintilla also shared that as part of the Inter – regional disaster response operationalization, the CRDRRMC is also set to deliver 1,000 Family Food Packs to augment the response actions of the DSWD Field Office Region 2.
For the effect of Tropical Cyclone Paeng in the Cordillera, DSWD – CAR Emergency Operations Center data as of 12 noon of October 30, 2022 show a total of 2,488 families or 10,247 individuals in 46 barangays in 15 municipalities in five provinces in the region have been affected .
For displaced families, there 96 families (325 individuals) being served inside seven evacuation centers that are opened while 56 families (215 individuals) are being served outside ECs.
Said data also listed three totally damaged houses and nine partially damaged houses For casualties, one missing person is reported in Balbalan, Kalinga.
CRDRRMC Chairperson and Civil Defense Cordillera Regional Director Albert Mogol commended the council’s response cluster headed by DSWD – CAR for leading the provision of government assistance to the victims of the tropical cyclones as well as the earthquake – affected population especially in the province of Abra.
Mogol reiterated his call for continuing pro- active approach in terms of disaster preparedness and response especially with still upcoming tropical cyclones. **JDP/CCD-PIA CAR