Malacañang on Tuesday reaffirmed its commitment to provide immediate assistance to communities affected by the enhanced southwest monsoon, intensified by Super Typhoon Inday, while ensuring the safety and protection of displaced families.
The Office of the Special Assistant to the President (OSAP), led by Secretary Antonio Lagdameo Jr., said it is closely coordinating with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) as disaster response, rescue and relief operations continue across the region.
“In a unified effort to protect displaced families and ensure public safety, more than a thousand emergency responders…and regional responders, have been fully deployed and sustained to assist affected communities, secure vital resources, and mitigate the impact of the calamity,” the OSAP said in a social media post.
Personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard and Bureau of Fire Protection have been deployed to support the BARMM government’s disaster response operations following heavy rainfall and flooding caused by the enhanced Habagat and intensified by Super Typhoon Inday.
“Thousands of emergency responders have been dispatched across the region, especially in severely affected areas and communities. Meanwhile, calamity impact mitigation efforts also continue alongside relief operations in several displaced communities as the national government maintains its commitment to ensuring that immediate support and relief reaches affected communities,” the OSAP said.
Data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Disaster Response Operations Monitoring, Information, and Communication Division showed that, as of Tuesday, 212,767 families or 891,068 individuals had been affected in 1,130 barangays across 12 regions.
Of the total, 75,667 families or 372,527 individuals were affected in BARMM.
The DSWD said 14,631 families or 66,537 individuals remained displaced in eight regions. Of these, 4,748 families or 20,890 individuals were staying in 97 evacuation centers, while 9,883 families or 45,647 individuals were temporarily staying with relatives or friends.
A total of 1,583 houses were damaged by heavy rains and landslides caused by the weather disturbance.
The DSWD said P63.8 million worth of assistance had already been provided to affected communities, including P61.82 million from the agency.
DSWD Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Irene Dumlao said the department was also providing psychosocial interventions alongside its large-scale relief operations to assist affected communities.
“Our field offices remain on high alert to dispatch additional augmentation support and psychosocial first aid whenever local government units request them,” Dumlao said.
To sustain its disaster response operations, the DSWD maintains a stockpile of 4.75 million family food packs prepositioned in warehouses nationwide.
The agency also has P490.7 million worth of other food items, P665.3 million worth of non-food relief items and P568.96 million in standby funds.