MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reiterated its appeal to the public not to donate used clothes for victims of calamities.
DSWD Secretary Virginia Orogo said the government discourages donations of used clothes to maintain the dignity of disaster victims in line with the provisions of Republic Act 4653.
“We ask for understanding... We do not want to further degrade the dignity and compromise the health of disaster survivors by giving them used clothes, especially those that are unfit to use anymore,” Orogo said.
She cited reports from the DSWD office in Central Visayas that used clothes were donated to those affected by a landslide in Naga City, Cebu.
“We apologize, but due to continuing disaster response operations in various areas, we have very limited personnel and we want to focus on other important tasks instead of sorting out what is usable and not usable (clothes) for the evacuees,” Orogo said.
The DSWD said hygiene kits, milk, school supplies, blankets, mats, pillows, diapers for children, new clothes and adult undergarments, ecobags and plastic boxes are what the evacuees need.
The Naga City government activated a centralized distribution system to ensure a more organized relief distribution and acceptance of donations.
The city government opened additional evacuation centers to accommodate those residing within the one-kilometer radius of the danger zone.
The DSWD said it is assisting 1,665 families or 7,381 individuals affected by the landslide.
At least 1,597 families or 7,113 individuals are staying in 11 evacuation centers in five barangays.