By Leilani S. Junio
MANILA, Dec. 10 (PNA) — As tropical storm “Ruby” is traversing the West Philippine Sea on its way out of the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Wednesday, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said the number of evacuation centers in the regions it affected continues to go down as many evacuees have returned to their homes.
However, the agency said there are still about 5,890 operational evacuation centers accommodating 325,463 families or 1.3 million individuals affected by “Ruby” in four regions of the country.
According to DSWD, these individuals in evacuation centers in Regions VIII (Eastern Visayas), VII (Central Visayas), V (Bicol) and IV-B (MIMAROPA) are still being supported with food packs from the relief hubs set up by the agency to ensure faster delivery of relief packs to the victims.
DSWD Secretary Corazon J. Soliman said the relief packs contain six kilos of rice, canned goods such as corned beef and sardines, noodles and coffee.
The inclusion of corned beef in the relief packs is in consideration of the sensitivity or preference of some people on eating beef rather than meat or pork.
In distributing these relief goods, the DSWD social workers continue to assist local government units (LGU) as part of the effort to manage the evacuation centers and ensure that the needs of the victims are met immediately.
The social workers also assist in providing hot meals, profiling of evacuees, and conducting play therapy for children.
They also coordinate with the Department of Health (DOH) in ensuring that mothers are breastfeeding their babies in areas designated for them. (PNA)