With Typhoon Paeng entering the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) yesterday, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is reminding the public to remain alert and vigilant for the possible effects that this weather disturbance may bring to the country.

“We were advised that Typhoon Paeng has no direct effect yet to the Philippines, however, we are urging our countrymen, especially in the northern part of Luzon to stay alert for flooding and landslide. We do not want any more harm to our kababayans,” DSWD Secretary Virginia N. Orogo said.

To date, the Department maintains a total of P658,613,833.62 standby funds, available food and non-food items (FNIs) amounting to P700,766,302.43, and stockpile of 386,413 family food packs (FFPs) amounting to P130,083,366.85 ready to be delivered to local government units (LGUs) that will be affected by ‘Paeng’.

‘Ompong’ response ops

Meanwhile, the DSWD also continues its response operations for ‘Ompong’-affected families in Luzon.

Over the weekend, Sec. Orogo and a team from DSWD Field Office (FO) III facilitated the distribution of 300 FFPs to affected families in Nueva Ecija and social pension to 793 elderly beneficiaries.

Meanwhile, DSWD Undersecretary Hope Hervilla and members of the DSWD FO Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) visited Itogon and Tuba, Benguet to assess the extent of damage brought by the typhoon in the area and monitor the situation of affected families.

DSWD-Field Office CAR is set to provide livelihood assistance to families affected by the landslide.  DSWD social workers have conducted initial assessment  to target beneficiaries who are interested to start poultry and livestock raising, farming, food processing and production, food cart business, and key chain production.

Beneficiaries are expected to receive a maximum amount of P20,000 as seed capital fund which can be used for the establishment of their small micro-enterprise business, while those who are interested to undergo skills training will receive P15,000.

In Region II, the DSWD Field Office (FO) II organized a meeting with Local Social Welfare and Development Offices (LSWDOs) to prepare a response plan for the damaged houses in the region.

As of this writing, the Department has already provided a total of P63,503,619.95 worth of assistance to Typhoon Ompong victims. ###