FOOD PACKS. Some of the victims of the huge fire at Sitio Sta. Maria, Pusok in Lapu-Lapu City carry food and other assistance provided by the Department of Social Welfare and Development - Central Visayas. DSWD regional director Shalaine Marie Lucero on Friday (Dec. 22, 2023) said they distributed a total of PHP5.6 million in food packs and non-food items to address the needs of the victims. (Photo courtesy of DSWD-7)
LAPU-LAPU CITY – Over 5,000 victims of the massive fire that hit a coastal village in this island city last week received a total of PHP5.6 million worth of family food packs and non-food assistance, a social welfare official said Friday.
Shalaine Marie Lucero, director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) - Central Visayas, said the relief operations for the disaster-affected residents of Sta. Maria of Barangay Pusok took place on two occasions this week.
She said among the goods delivered were 1,098 ten-liter bottles of water, 1,098 sleeping kits, and 2,196 malong (wrap-around garments).
The DSWD also distributed 4,622 family food packs.
As per DSWD-7 record, the affected families reached 2,202 or 5,151 individuals who are temporarily sheltered at Pusok Elementary School and Pusok Recreation Center in the same barangay.
Lapu-Lapu City declared a state of calamity after the huge fire razed more than 600 houses in Barangay Pusok on Dec.12.
Apart from the assistance from DSWD-7, the local government unit (LGU) has provided a total of PHP7.2 million in aid.
“We are still in close coordination with the LGU of Lapu-Lapu City and assured them that the agency has prepared to deliver more augmentation support to the affected families upon assessment and request,” Lucero told the Philippine News Agency. (PNA)
