DSWD: Food boxes given to stranded passengers amid Verbena wrath

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has begun distributing boxes of ready-to-eat food (RTEF) to passengers stranded in ports across the country due to rough weather from Tropical Storm Verbena.

In a statement on Tuesday, DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao of the Disaster Response and Management Group (DRMG) said the DSWD Field Office (FO) – Calabarzon has given RTEF boxes to 94 stranded passengers at the Dalahican Port in Lucena City, Quezon.

In Negros Occidental, the DSWD’s FO-Negros Island Region (NIR) extended RTEF boxes to 100 locally stranded individuals (LSIs) at the Bacolod Real Estate Development Corporation (BREDCO) Port in Bacolod City.

At the Surigao City Port, 39 stranded passengers also received food boxes from the DSWD’s FO-Caraga.

“Bilang bahagi ng utos ng Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. na siguruhin na walang Pilipinong magugutom sa oras ng sakuna, nagsimula na po kahapon na mamahagi ng RTEF ang aming mga field offices sa mga locally stranded individuals sa mga pantalan na madadaanan ni Bagyong Verbena,” said Dumlao, the DSWD spokesperson.

(In accordance with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s instruction that no Filipino should go hungry during disasters, our field offices began distributing the RTEF to locally stranded individuals in ports affected by Verbena.)

“Ang bawat RTEF ay binubuo ng halal-certified meals. Ito ay ibinibigay sa mga evacuees at mga stranded na pasahero para may available na pagkain sila within the 24 to 48-hour period na tumama ang bagyo sa isang lugar,” she added.

(Each RTEF is composed of halal-certified meals. This is given to evacuees and stranded passengers so that they have food to eat within the 24 to 48-hour period that a storm is affecting an area.)

Each RTEF box contains five cans of tuna paella, one can of chicken pastil, one can of giniling, two packs of arroz caldo, three packs of champorado, two protein biscuits, and one infant food item.

In addition to the RTEF boxes, the DSWD also delivered P38,454 worth of food and non-food assistance to Surigao del Norte.

The DSWD and concerned local government units (LGUs) are constantly monitoring the welfare of 1,832 families or 5,580 individuals currently staying in 61 evacuation centers in the Negros Island Region (NIR) and Caraga region. — JMA, GMA Integrated News