DSWD gives financial aid to Maymay, Habagat victims in Benguet, Rizal

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) distributed financial assistance to families affected by a landslide in Benguet and a rockslide in Rizal triggered by rains from tropical cyclone Maymay and the enhanced Southwest Monsoon, or Habagat.

Two people were killed and another was severely injured when a landslide hit an eatery in Barangay Shilan, La Trinidad, Benguet, on August 6.

"Agad na nagpaabot ng tulong ang Departamento sa mga pamilya ng biktima sa Benguet para po naman ay mabawasan ang kanilang alalahanin," DSWD spokesperson Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said.

"Sa kasalukuyan po ay pinoproseso na rin naman po ang burial assistance at patuloy rin ang pagsubaybay sa mga pangangailangan ng mga residente," she added.

(The Department immediately extended assistance to the victims' families in Benguet to help ease their worries. Burial assistance is currently being processed, and we continue to monitor the needs of the residents.)

The agency said its Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) field office provided P10,000 in initial financial assistance to the families of the two deceased individuals and P5,000 to the injured resident, who is currently recovering in a hospital.

In Rodriguez, Rizal, two people were killed after monsoon rains triggered a rockslide that hit several houses in Barangay Wawa on Wednesday, August 5.

According to the DSWD, the Rodriguez local government provided initial food and non-food items, along with P10,000 in cash assistance, to the bereaved families.

"The DSWD is currently awaiting the full incident report from local authorities to endorse the affected households for further AICS assistance," the agency said.

Relief operations continue

The DSWD said that relief operations for families affected by tropical cyclones Luis and Maymay are ongoing.

"Nakaalerto po ang ating mga disaster response teams sa mga regional offices para agad na makatugon sa mga pangangailangan ng mga lokal na pamahalaan," Dumlao said.

(Our disaster response teams in the regional offices are on high alert to quickly respond to the needs of local government units.)

"Sa ngayon po nakapag-distribute na po tayo ng family food packs and ready-to-eat-food boxes sa affected communities to address their immediate needs," she added.

(As of now, we have distributed family food packs and ready-to-eat food boxes to affected communities to address their immediate needs.)

As of 6 a.m. on August 6, the DSWD said it had released 1,244 family food packs, 266 non-food items, and 634 ready-to-eat food packs to displaced families.

According to the latest Disaster Response Operations Monitoring, Information, and Communication report, the weather disturbances affected 26,412 families, or 88,738 people, across 290 barangays.

Through resource augmentation, the DSWD said its humanitarian support for affected communities had reached P1.798 million, extending assistance to Regions I, II, III, V, and IX. —VBL, GMA News