SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Ilocos regional office has sent 3,000 family food packs for the victims of Taal Volcano eruption in Batangas.
In an interview Tuesday, DSWD-1 information officer Darwin Chan said about 2,000 family food packs were sent to Bauan, Batangas on Jan. 15 and another 1,000 packs were sent to San Luis, Batangas the following day.
Chan said each family food pack contained six kilograms of rice, four cans of sardines, four cans of corned beef, and six sachets of instant coffee.
“We will also send the donations from local government units and private individuals in the region to Batangas but we are still assessing, especially the used clothes donated, as we wanted to ensure suitability of donated goods so that it would not be hazardous to the recipients. There are also canned goods donated,” he added.
Chan said volunteer staff from DSWD-1 will also be deployed at the Batangas Operational Center to oversee logistics, planning, camp coordination and management, financial concerns, daily reports, among others.
“Ten volunteer staffs will be deployed every week in Batangas. They will be sent in five batches. They are the ones who underwent camp coordination and camp management training to ensure they have necessary skills and are physically healthy,” he added.
Chan further said DSWD-1 is still accepting relief goods and cash donations for Taal Volcano eruption victims.
“But we discourage used clothes, better if they donate new clothes or canned goods for the victims. For cash donations, they may send it to the DSWD account. They may check our Facebook page (DSWD Ilocandia) for further details,” he said. (PNA)