TYPHOON AID. Workers unload food packs for Samar provinces a few weeks after Typhoon Bising hit the island on April 17, 2021. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has distributed PHP8.8 million worth of food packs to the affected families. (Photo courtesy of DSWD Region 8)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has distributed PHP8.8 million worth of food packs to thousands of families affected by Typhoon Bising in Samar last month.
The assistance was sent to 13 towns after local government units sought assistance from the agency to augment their relief good supplies, the DSWD regional office here said in a statement on Monday.
Of the more than 16,000 food packs sent, 1,000 were delivered to the town of Catarman, 1,500 to Catubig, 1,500 to Palapag, 806 to San Roque, 1,895 to Laoang, and 664 to Pambujan, all in Northern Samar province.
In Eastern Samar province, the DSWD sent 2,500 food packs to the town of Arteche, 923 to Can-avid, 307 to Hernani, 2,000 to Jipapad, and 2,500 to Oras. Also included in the deliveries are the towns of San Sebastian, which received 700 packs, and Paranas, which got 32 packs, both in Samar province.
"The DSWD would like to express our gratitude to our partners in delivering relief goods to typhoon victims such as the Office of Civil Defense, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Department of Public Works and Highways, and local government units," the agency's statement said.
Each family food pack contained six kilos of rice, five sachets of coffee, five sachets of energy cereal drink, four cans of corned beef, four cans of tuna flakes, and two cans of sardines.
Earlier, the DSWD in Eastern Visayas forged a partnership with the Eastern Samar State University (ESSU) in Borongan City, Eastern Samar, and the University of Eastern Philippines for the use of its campus facilities in the prepositioning of relief goods before and during typhoons.
Typhoon Bising affected several communities in Eastern Visayas on the third week of April, with the entire Samar Island and Biliran province placed under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 2.
The weather disturbance claimed two lives and displaced thousands of families due to widespread flooding. (PNA)
