The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) released today P10 million to DSWD-Field Office 7 to purchase relief goods for the families affected by the 7.2 earthquake that struck Central Visayas today, October 15 that killed at least 20 people in Cebu and damaging property including historic structures in Bohol.

DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman said that the Department has prepositioned 2,000 family food packs and 100 laminated sacks which will be airlifted today to Cebu City using a C-130 plane of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Secretary Soliman added that she has instructed the mobilization of all personnel of DSWD-Region VII and the staff from the Central Office to assist in disaster operations.

DSWD reports revealed that based on available information extracted on the population count of the National Statistics Office in 2010 of the initially affected areas, some 342,549 families coming from 316 barangays in Bohol and Cebu are projected to be affected by the earthquake.

According to Soliman, DSWD social workers were immediately dispatched to monitor and assess the extent of the disaster around Central Visayas. ###