MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government has swiftly mobilized to provide aid and relief to regions ravaged by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name Trami), ensuring that affected communities receive critical support in the storm’s aftermath.
According to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the agency has already distributed 163.8 million Philippine pesos (approximately $2.8 million USD) worth of humanitarian assistance to the hardest-hit areas. This includes the delivery of 69.23 million pesos’ worth of food and non-food items to the Bicol region, one of the areas most severely impacted by the storm.
“In Bicol, we were able to respond quickly because we had already prepositioned around 71,000 family food packs before Kristine made landfall,” said Leo Quintilla, the DSWD’s Special Assistant to the Secretary for Disaster Response Management Group. “On the very first day, we were able to distribute 71,000 food packs.”
The government’s relief efforts extend beyond just food, as the DSWD has also provided over 7,000 non-food items to affected communities across the country. Additionally, the agency has introduced an innovative “family filtration kit” to ensure access to clean, potable water for displaced families.
“It’s like a bucket with a 0.1-micron filter that can produce at least 1,200 liters of water per day,” Quintilla explained. “Our strategy is to allocate these kits to the evacuation centers that are in need of clean water.”
As the response phase gives way to early recovery and rehabilitation, the government is also focusing on restoring livelihoods in the affected regions. Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno of the Office of Civil Defense reported that more than 4 million individuals were severely impacted by Kristine, with initial agricultural damage estimated at over 143 million pesos.
“After the response, we will enter the early recovery and rehabilitation phase,” Quintilla said. “The objective of early recovery is to restore livelihoods in the affected families.”
