MANILA, — Two Philippine Coast Guard ships arrived in this city on Saturday bringing in additional relief goods from the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for the families affected by the crisis in the area.
DSWD Secretary Corazon J. Soliman inspected the items at the local wharf and instructed for its transfer to the warehouses for repacking.
The BRP EDSA, the first ship to arrive under the command of Lt. Col. Joe Mark Angge, contained relief goods of 17,500 family food packs and 400 boxes of high-energy biscuits.
The second ship Corregidor 892, under Lcdr. Ludovico Librilla, Commanding Officer, carried another set of relief goods.
The second ship consist of about 650 family packs, 4,000 family kits that include cooking and eating utensils, 1,000 pieces of blankets, 1,000 pieces of mats, 1,000 pieces of mosquito nets, and 380 tents.
Meanwhile, Secretary Soliman also met with the officials of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) compound Saturday morning, where she officially receive relief goods for the evacuees.
Ms. Ainee Amboy, USAID Area Team Leader for Mindanao, turned over to the DSWD three truckloads of non-food items (NFI) containing hygiene kits, sleeping gears, and kitchen items.
The donations, as accounted by the DSWD, comprised of 10,000 pieces of bath soap, 10,000 pieces of towels, 10,000 pieces of laundry soaps, 5,000 tubes of toothpaste, 25,000 pieces of toothbrush, 5,000 bottles of alcohol, 9,710 pieces of blankets, 5,000 pieces of sleeping mats, and kitchen items like ladles, cooking pots, and water basins at 5,000 pieces each.
Soliman ordered for the immediate repacking of these goods for its timely release to the evacuees by Sept. 23.
“I commend the USAID, other donor agencies, civil society organizations, faith-based groups, and kind-hearted individuals for their continued support extended to our brothers and sisters in Zamboanga who are ruthlessly affected by the crisis instigated by MNLF-Misuari faction,” she said.