The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) vowed Saturday, July 24, that more relief assistance will be extended to families living in areas affected by the imposition of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Visayas and Mindanao.

The DSWD said through its Field Offices (FOs) VI and X, it will continue augmenting the resources of the affected local government units (LGUs).

It has so far provided more than 80,000 family food packs to ECQ-affected areas.

“Since the ECQ was imposed on July 16 in some LGUs in Western Visayas, DSWD FO VI has released 22,000 Family Food Packs (FFPs) to augment the resources of Iloilo City and other 24 municipalities in the Iloilo province,” it said in a statement on Saturday.

The FO in Rizal Ibarra in Iloilo City, Cabatuan, and island barangays of Igbon and Malangabang in Conception, Iloilo have already initiated relief drives.

Around 35,000 FFPs have been sent to Field Office VI to augment its resources.

The FFPs were provided by the Visayas Disaster Response Center (VDRC) and FOs VII and VIII.

The DSWD said 20,000 FFPs have been delivered to Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental and 5,000 FFPs to Cagayan de Oro City.

The DSWD FO X is tasked to oversee the delivery of relief aid in these areas.

“The FO also received 15,000 FFPs as resource augmentation support from nearby DSWD FOs IX, XI, and XII,” the Social Welfare department said.

It said additional 1,000 FFPs from FO IX are also in transit to FO X, while some 23,000 FFPs from the VDRC are already aboard a vessel bound for FO X.

The department said DSWD FOs VI and X continue coordinating with concerned LGUs to determine how the families affected by the ECQ can be better assisted.

“The DSWD assured LGUs in Western Visayas and Northern Mindanao that relief supplies are enough especially that other DSWD Field Offices have committed to provide augmentation support to ECQ areas.”