RELIEF. Residents of Barangay San Pedro in Narvacan town, Ilocos Sur receive family food packs from the Department of Social Welfare and Development on July 29,2023. The DSWD has already augmented over 89,000 family food packs and non-food items to the affected families in Ilocos Region as of August 1. (Photo courtesy of Pablo Sanidad II Facebook page)
MALASIQUI, Pangasinan – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Ilocos regional office has already distributed 89,021 family food packs and non-food items to affected households in the region as of 12 noon Tuesday.
In a radio interview, Melecio Ubilas Jr., DSWD Ilocos officer-in-charge assistant regional director for administration, said this was in line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. during his visit to Ilocos Norte on July 29.
“The directive of the President is to help the affected families until they have fully recovered,” Ubilas said.
He added that the family food packs were augmentation to the relief assistance from the local government units (LGUs).
Ubilas said of the total number of augmented family food packs and non-food items, 41,396 were given to Ilocos Sur, 18,500 to La Union, 9,697 to Pangasinan, and 19,428 to Ilocos Norte.
He said each family food pack contained six kilos of rice, four cans of tuna, four cans of corned beef, two cans of sardines, five sachets of instant coffee and five sachets of cereal.
He added that each family food pack was expected to provided for a family’s needs for a minimum of two days.
For the non-food items, they distributed hygiene kits containing toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, bath soap, bath towels, T-shirts, shorts and slippers among others.
“We give the LGUs depending on their request and the number of families affected,” he said.
Ubilas said there are now 215,890 families or 918,458 individuals affected by the inclement weather and flooding as of 12 noon Tuesday.
Of the total number, 19,357 families or 74,822 are in La Union, 72,522 families, or 319,865 individuals in Pangasinan, 68,821 families, or 289,270 individuals in Ilocos Sur, and 54,190 families, or 234,501 individuals in Ilocos Norte.
The DSWD also recorded 19,534 partially damaged houses and 614 totally destroyed mostly in Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte.
Ubalis said they are still planning on giving additional assistance to the affected families.
He said they have activated incident command centers in different parts of the region and regularly coordinate with the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. (PNA)
