Manila: The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has provided more than PHP1.16 billion worth of assistance to families and individuals affected by the southwest monsoon and tropical cyclones Crising, Dante, and Emong as of Wednesday morning. This substantial aid underscores the agency's commitment to supporting Filipinos during challenging times, as stated by Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD's Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG).

According to Philippines News Agency, the DSWD has released over 1.7 million boxes of family food packs (FFPs) to assist families impacted by the recent weather disturbances. In addition to the food packs, the department has also distributed non-food relief items and financial aid to the affected communities. Despite the extensive response efforts, the DSWD maintains PHP2.18 billion worth of stockpiles and standby funds, ready for immediate augmentation to local government units (LGUs).

On Tuesday, relevant DSWD Field Offices (FOs) continued distributing relief goods to communities suffering from heavy rains and flooding, maintaining close coordination with LGUs to ensure the timely delivery of aid. According to the latest report from the Disaster Response Operations Management, Information, and Communication (DROMIC), 8,458 families or 31,822 individuals are currently sheltered in 334 evacuation centers across various regions.

The evacuees continue receiving aid from the DSWD, facilitated through their respective LGUs, until they can safely return to their homes. The breakdown of distributed family food packs as of 6 a.m. Wednesday includes significant distributions in Central Luzon with 484,520 packs, Ilocos with 325,007 packs, and the National Capital Region with 306,506 packs, among others, totaling over 1.7 million distributed packs across several regions.