While Typhoon Egay has weakened based on the latest report of the state weather bureau, its effects continue to affect a large portion of Northern Luzon prompting the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to intensify its disaster response efforts to assist and augment the resources of local government units (LGUs) hardest hit by the cyclone.

In the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), where almost 90 percent of Baguio City has no power supply since Wednesday night, members of the DSWD Field Office (FO) Quick Response Team (QRT) remain on alert status to assist LGUs in responding to the needs of their affected constituents.

As of press time, DSWD CAR Regional Director Leo Quintilla, is presiding over the QRT meeting of the FO to identify ways to strengthen their disaster response efforts.

In his report to DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, Director Quintilla said the FO-CAR has initially provided more than P1.6 million worth of relief supplies to the affected families in the region. These include family food packs (FFPs), hygiene and sleeping kits, and bottled drinking water.

The regional director said the FO is currently delivering to Apayao province the 10,000 family food packs dispatched by the National Resource Operations Office (NROC), the DSWD’s main disaster response hub based in Pasay City.

As of July 27, some 3,340 families from Abra, Apayao, Baguio City, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain Province have been affected by Super Typhoon Egay.

“Of this number, 270 families are staying in 44 evacuation centers in the affected provinces,” Regional Director Quintilla said.

The FO also gathered that 62 houses have been damaged due to the heavy rains and strong winds brought by Egay.

“The FO is requesting for manpower support from the Office of the Civil Defense and the local disaster office to help in the hauling and loading of goods from the warehouses for faster delivery to the affected localities,” Regional Director Quintilla said.

The CAR regional director said the FO-CAR will continue extending assistance to the LGUs to ensure that their constituents are able to meet their daily food needs in these difficult times, in keeping with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr that no one should experience hunger during disasters. #