The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has partnered with Australian Aid (AusAID) and World Food Programme (WFP)  in providing relief goods to the affected towns of the recent 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Bohol.

“This partnership  with AusAID and WFP will help us provide more relief goods to the affected families until such time that they can address their own food needs,” DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman said.

The relief packs to be distributed will contain 20 kilos of rice, 20 assorted canned goods, 10 sachets of chocolate drink, and 10 sachets of coffee.

“Each relief pack is good for 15 days for a family of five members. These will be  distributed to the most vulnerable families in worst-hit areas,” Secretary Soliman explained.

A total of 59,703 food packs will be distributed over the weekend  in the 17 worst-affected towns.

Australian Ambassador Bill Twedell, AusAID Minister-Counsellor Layton Pike, and WFP Country Director Praveen Agrawal will arrive in Bohol on November 2 to lead the relief distribution activity in Sagbayan with Secretary Soliman and Bohol Governor Edgardo Chatto.

Representatives from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)  will also join the activity on Saturday to distribute tents and blue sheets.  Earlier, JICA and the DSWD signed the Deed of Donation for the tents and other items for the construction of temporary shelters.

The group will also visit the DSWD Warehouse in Tubigon and the Tubigon West Central School,  one of the biggest evacuation centers in Bohol sheltering 162 families or 575 individuals as of October 31. ###