Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando Bautista is currently in Isabela, Cagayan Valley to monitor the impact of Typhoon Rosita which made a landfall earlier this morning in the province.
Sec. Bautista shared over a radio interview that he is with Isabela Governor Bojie Dy to monitor disaster response efforts in the area.
“Kakakausap ko lang sa regional director natin. Ang instruction ko sa kanila ay siguraduhing naka-pre-position ang mga food packs po natin para in case na dumating sa kanila yung bagyo ay madali nang makuha ng mga recipients. Nagpapasalamat ako kay Gov. Dy at pinahintulutan niya akong mag-stay dito para mag-monitor lang sa DSWD efforts natin (I have just talked to our regional director here. My instruction to him is to ensure that goods are already prepositioned in the local level so that affected families can immediately get assistance. I also thank Gov. Dy for allowing me to stay in the province to monitor DSWD efforts),” Sec. Bautista said.
Sec. Bautista also said that DSWD quick response teams in areas along ‘Rosita’s’ path are now activated to assist affected local government units (LGUs).
As of 7AM today, the DSWD Disaster Response Management Bureau (DRMB) reported a total of 1,947 families or 5,910 persons from 35 barangays in Regions I, II, III, and in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) who have been affected by the typhoon. The Field Office (FO) also prepositioned yesterday some 890 tents to 70 LGUs identified by Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) to be highly susceptible to landslides and flashfloods.
Food and non-food items composed of 6,800 family food packs (FFPs), 500 sleeping kits, 500 kitchen kits, and 400 family kits are now in transit to the DSWD Provincial Social Welfare and Development (SWAD) offices in CAR.
In Region III, the Field Office here has also prepositioned 21,148 FFPs in various LGUs. Likewise, additional 2,000 FFPs and 1,000 sleeping kits are expected to be delivered in the field office.
“We are consistently monitoring the track of the typhoon and are coordinating with affected local government units to immediately send assistance to the affected families. Rest assured that the DSWD is doing all possible measures to address the needs of the evacuees and ensure their safety,” said Bautista ended. ###
