LEGAZPI CITY, July 28 -- Barangay Captain Mia Napiri Alemania of Anoling here thanked President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for the government's disaster response, saying residents displaced by the ongoing unrest of Mayon Volcano have continued to receive government assistance for more than seven months.
"My constituents staying in evacuation centers have consistently received food assistance and essential services through the coordinated efforts of national government agencies and the local government. We can feel the sincere care of the government," Alemania said in an interview on Tuesday.
Alemania said that under President Marcos' food security program, family food packs are delivered every three days to the 123 families staying at the evacuation center since the start of Alert Level 3 on Jan. 1.
The barangay captain said evacuees also continue to benefit from round-the-clock security, medical services, and disaster response operations.
"Police personnel are deployed 24/7 for security. The Department of Health also maintains medical team onsite in case there are health concerns. Disaster Risk Reduction personnel are also on standby, while we, the barangay officials, have been serving the evacuees 24/7 for the past seven to eight months," she added.
Alemania said the government has been responsive to the needs of displaced families, with requests immediately relayed to local government units whenever additional assistance is needed.
"Whatever the evacuees need, we immediately communicate it to the LGUs whenever there are shortages," she said.
Alemania expressed gratitude to the Department of Social Welfare and Development and President Marcos for the continued assistance extended to affected residents.
Despite the steady assistance, Alemania said the opening of classes has brought new challenges to displaced families, particularly in meeting educational expenses.
She said some schools, including Tagaytay Elementary School, are prepared to accommodate displaced learners, but many parents have opted to keep their children enrolled in their original schools. College students, meanwhile, face additional transportation costs as they now have to travel farther from the evacuation centers.
According to the latest DSWD disaster report, Claudio Villareal, Disaster Response and Management Division chief, said 1,086 families, or 3,941 persons, remain inside 12 evacuation centers, while 42 families, or 140 individuals, are staying outside evacuation facilities.
"Humanitarian assistance provided by the agency, local government units, non-government organizations, and other partners has reached PHP318.99 million," he said.
Of the total assistance, PHP305.43 million came from the DSWD Field Office 5, PHP2.30 million from LGUs, PHP983,904 from NGOs, and PHP10.27 million from other government agencies, private organizations, and partners.
As of July 21, the DSWD also reported available relief resources amounting to PHP270.57 million, consisting of PHP3 million in standby funds and PHP267.57 million in stockpiled relief goods ready for immediate deployment.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.