Those residents living in areas in Visayas and Mindanao that have been placed under lockdown can count on the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The DSWD said Monday, July 19, that it “is ready” to augment the resources of the local government units (LGUs) affected by the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), specifically the areas of Iloilo Province, Iloilo City, Cagayan de Oro, and Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental.
“The Department is currently coordinating with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for the provision of air and other logistical assets to assist in the immediate delivery of FFPs (family food packs) that will be augmented by the Department to the concerned areas,” it said in a statement on Monday.
It noted that as soon as the ECQ was imposed, the DSWD Field Office (FO) VI (Western Visayas) received a total of 5,000 family food packs (FFPs) augmentation from the Visayas Disaster Response Center.
“Currently, FO VI has a total of 10,439 FFPs and standby funds worth more than P3 million,” the DSWD said.
The social welfare agency said its Field Offices VI and X (Northern Mindanao) have been coordinating with the concerned LGUs to find out the number of families affected by the ECQ areas and determine if they are qualified to receive aid from the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS).
AICS provides medical, educational, burial, transportation, food and non-food assistance in the form of outright cash to support the recovery of individuals and families suffering from unexpected life event or crisis such as illness or death of a family member, natural and human-induced emergencies, and other critical incidents.
“The Department will continue to monitor the situation of the areas under ECQ to ensure that all affected families will receive necessary assistance,” the DSWD said.