Rey Anthony H.
Chiu
TAGBILARAN CITY, June 27 (PIA) – Responding
to the effects of the long dry season and the searing heat brought about by the
El Nino, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) mobilized its
resources to bring crucial relief to distressed communities in the island
barangays of Bohol.
And, for its initial mobilization, DSWD Bohol
reports the delivery of relief food and water packs to 22,771 individuals in 14
towns, most of them from the deprived sectors.
DSWD Bohol Chief Papiasa Bustrillos said that
with local resources, they are constrained to prioritize the distribution of
rice, canned goods and water to families of farmers and fishermen of Bohol’s
island barangays and towns who are severely affected by the long dry season.
The drought brought about by the El Nino has not
just damaged millions of pesos worth of agriculture, but its searing and
persistent heat ruined also the multi-million seaweeds industry feeding
thousands of seaweed farmers in the island barangays of northern Bohol,
Bustillos revealed during the Kapihan sa PIA.
"Right now, we are again continuing to pack
more relief to be delivered to other areas in Bohol that need them," she
said, adding that the delivery depends on the availability of trucks from Bohol
Provincial Disaster and Risk Reduction Council (PDRRMC).
"We also intend to ask the congressman from
the second district, Cong. Aristotle Aumentado, to lend us his boat so we could
deliver the goods to other islets," she added.
The repacking, she added, is based on validated
reports emanating from town teams.
The team, comprised of the municipal or city
social welfare and development officer, municipal agriculture officer (MAO), a
representative from the DSWD Kalahi, 4Ps and the Sustainable Livelihood
Programs, gather and shortlist the data of calamity-affected individuals from
the barangays.
The data is the validated from the
list submitted by the MAO, MSWDO, and civil society organizations.
People who are severely affected may go to these
teams and get into the list, but Bohol welfare officials also explained why not
everyone can be given relief packs.
"We are operating on a limited budget, so
we make sure that only those who have no other means can get [the relief
packs]," Bustrillos explained.
Beyond that, by operational protocol, the local
office has to keep a buffer stock of 10,000 relief packs which can be withdrawn
any given time during emergencies, she said.
Relief is just among the many interventions
that DSWD is extending to communities and 4Ps beneficiaries who are
severely distressed by the El Nino.
By July, the 4Ps Family Development Session,
where 4Ps beneficiaries are required to attend, would be tackling disaster
preparedness, according to Phoebe Jen Indino, 4PS Information Officer.
The program, to be implemented in coordination
with the Office of the Civil Defense, Philippine National Red Cross, and the
Bureau of Fire Protection would grant to communities the proper disaster
preparedness to mitigate the often disastrous effects of La Nina, Indino bared.
(rmn/rac/PIA-7/Bohol)