THE government has distributed P817,992 worth of food and other relief assistance to families affected by the Taal explosion, the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DSWD-DROMIC) said yesterday.
Data from the DROMIC monitoring showed that as of April 3, at least 2,445 families or 8,335 persons have been displaced by the eruption, with 1,192 families or 4,085 persons currently staying in 21 evacuation centers in Batangas and 1,253 families or 4,250 persons temporarily staying with their relatives or friends.
DSWD said it has on standby P1.162 billion worth of funds and relief packs, which includes P150.746 million of funds, P307.68 million worth of family food packs (FFPs) and P703.92 million worth of on-food items.
President Duterte, accompanied by Sen. Christopher Go, yesterday distributed food and non-food relief items to evacuees at the Agoncillo Central School in Agoncillo, Batangas.
Before that, he inspected the Mataas na Kahoy evacuation center also in Batangas, which can house around 150 families or around 600 individuals.
The Duterte government started the construction of evacuation centers around the country in 2016 in anticipation of calamities and disasters.
In 2020, after the eruption of Taal volcano, he ordered the construction of evacuation centers in the cities of Lipa and Tanauan, and municipalities of Malvar, Talisay, and Laurel.
Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHUSD) Secretary Eduardo del Rosario said yesterday that 299 of 392 evacuation centers planned nationwide have been completed, including the evacuation centers in Mataas na Kahoy, Sta. Teresita, and Alitagtag, all in Batangas, that were completed last week.
The President said the permanent evacuation centers are among the projects and programs that his administration would leave behind when he ends his term in June.
