DSWD: Advance Preparations, Swift Response, Close Coordination with Other Disaster Relief Agencies Key to Aiding ‘Lawin’-Affected Filipinos

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo said that the DSWD and other agencies of the Duterte administration have been prepared in their  response to the emergency situation created by Typhoon Lawin.

She said that among the factors that ensured this preparedness are the preemptive evacuations; the prepositioning of goods; the communications system established and the constant communication and contact with the municipalities affected by ‘Lawin’.

The preparedness efforts were led by the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“It has to be emphasized that advanced preparations have been very important—our swift and coordinated response within the DSWD and with the other agencies under the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) is the key to our efforts to immediately address the needs of Filipinos affected by Typhoon Lawin. We are attacking and resolving challenges we are now encountering in our goal to help Filipinos one at a time. The scope of the damage is very wide, and so are the entire areas affected. We will pursue our efforts to extend assistance to as many affected Filipinos and their families as fast and as efficiently as we can,” she said.

Sec. Taguiwalo also stated that coordination with leaders and units at the regional and ground levels have also been crucial to efforts. She said that the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council was convened immediately after the typhoon despite the act that information was slow in coming from the localities. The DSWD was able to give direction to the response clusters and lead them on how they should work.

“We are improving   as we go and as we see areas of work that are weak and need to be strengthened.  Our conclusion is basic – we at the DSWD must go down to the field, speak to the people if the steps we are proposing are also what they need. We have to do this to ensure the validity of our data on which we base our plans,” she said.

Sec. Taguiwalo also thanked its partners in the private sector for all their assistance. Among those who have helped DSWD   are the convenience chain 7-11 for providing means and snack to DSWD personnel and volunteers working in the National Resource Operations Center, and Maynilad for providing bottled water.

“We also thank the Australian Embassy for its continuing offer of assistance,” she said.

Assistance to the affected beyond foodpacks

On October 22, Sec. Taguiwalo issued a directive to the Directors of Field Offices 1, 2, 3 and CAR on emergency shelter assistance (ESA) for Lawin-affected families. Affected FOs are directed to immediately provide the following services and interventions to the affected families in terms of Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA) and Cash/Food-for-Work (CFW).

The ESA is the provision of emergency “self-build” shelter assistance through limited material or financial assistance to augment resources of affected families so they can buy shelter materials they need to construct or repair of damage houses partially or totally destroyed.

CFW provides transitional support and citizenship building through temporary employment by providing families cash or food assistance in exchange for participation in community work either for disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, or early recovery and rehabilitation. The rate is equivalent to 75% of the regional minimum wage of the covered regions based on latest government-prescribed rates. The number of days of engagement is pegged at a maximum of 15, but the number of days for extension varies based on the work component to be undertaken.

The priority for the CFW scheme are families with damaged houses; community work may include clearing debris, repair of damaged shelters, and small-scale community infrastructure. The maximum of work days for each person is 15 days.  The rate is P214.00/day for CAR; P210 for Region 1; P225.00 for Region II, and P273.00 for Region III representing 75% of minimum wage rates.

Update on disaster relief assistance provided to areas affected by Lawin as of 6AM, October 26, 2016.

Number of Affected Families / Persons

To date, there are 302,764 families or 1,352,002 persons affected in 3,097 barangays in Regions CAR, I, II, III, and V.

Status of Displaced Families / Persons

A total of 199,514 families or 873,655 persons were displaced in Regions CAR, I, II, III, and V; of which, 1,141 families or 4,132 persons are currently taking shelter in 23 evacuation centers while 5,505 families or 26,981 persons are staying with their relatives and friends.

Damaged Houses

There are a total of 97,126 damaged houses in Regions CAR, I, II, and III; of which, 84,691 are partially damaged and 12,435 are totally damaged.

Assistance Provided

To date, a total of ₱34,636,253 worth of relief assistance has been provided to the affected families. Of the said amount, the Department provided ₱27,844,541; respective LGUs provided a total of ₱6,786,712; while some NGOs provided a total of ₱5,000.

Status of Prepositioned Resources: Stockpile and Standby Funds

The Central Office (CO), affected Field Offices (FOs) and National Resource Operations Center (NROC) have a total stockpile and standby funds amounting to ₱840,551,812.92 with breakdown as follows:

a. Standby Funds
There are a total of ₱511,522,233.18 standby funds at the CO and FOs. Of the said amount, ₱495,037,058.87 is the available Quick Response Fund at the CO.

b. Stockpiles
There is also a total of 256,184 Family Food Packs (FFPs) amounting to ₱97,076,574.35 and available Food and Non-Food Items (FNFIs) amounting to ₱231,953,005.39.