ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - Assistance provided to thousands of evacuees, displaced by the recent armed conflict have reached P189.5 million, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported.
About P120 million of the total assistance provided was in the form of cooked meals or a total of 2,065,236 food packs distributed to different evacuation centers since Oct. 16.
The DSWD regional office here reported that besides food packs, some P5.1 million of non-food items such as blankets, plastic mats, hygiene kits, kitchen utensils, and mosquito nets, among others were also provided.
The social welfare office has also started distributing other relief goods to the evacuees since the other week, including rice, canned sardines, and canned goods, coffee and noodle packs as the government started the rehabilitation phase in the area.
The DSWD also provided relief packs to each of the families of evacuees returning to their homes in the devastated barangays. The relief packs include nine kilos of rice, 15 cans of sardines, 10 cans of corned beef, 20 pieces of noodle packs, and 20 pieces of instant coffee packs.
Some 35 percent of the more than 120,000 evacuees have returned to their homes in devastated barangays of Sta. Catalina and Sta. Barbara after the local crisis management committee (CMC) allowed them to do so under a phase-in scheme.
Most of those who returned to their homes expressed shock over the devastation of their houses, while the houses that survived the conflagration were riddled with bullet holes. Other residents also complained that their personal belongings were looted.
At least 62 bunkhouses were also constructed with the help of international agencies and military engineers with priorities given to displaced families whose houses were burned at the height of the conflict. - Roel Pareño