The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) continues to receive various donations and volunteering offers, boosting the government’s relief efforts for the Typhoon Odette victims.

Even its own staff are manning the repacking sections just to get the work done immediately, the DSWD said on Wednesday.

As one of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) staff, Malu Catolin finds fulfillment in applying the core values of the program by volunteering in the repacking of the family food packs for families displaced by “Odette”.

“Indirectly, I was able to help those affected by the typhoon,” Malu, also a financial analyst from DSWD Field Office (FO) in Region 6 (Western Visayas), said in a post shared by DSWD.

Malu, who has been working at DSWD FO-Western Visayas for more than a decade, is not new on the mobilization of the staff when a calamity or typhoon strikes.

“DSWD, through its Field Office (FO) 7, together with public and private organizations in Central Visayas, worked together to distribute donations and relief assistance to families affected by Typhoon Odette,” the agency said.

DSWD FO 7 staff and volunteers from various organizations helped each other in the repacking of Family Food Packs (FFPs) and other relief goods, while some assisted in the releasing, loading, and escorting of relief items to different transportation channels.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) lent their black hawk choppers and the Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine Navy, and the Philippine Marines also utilized their vessels and marine patrol boats to reach victims residing on the island barangays.

Private sector partners, namely Maayo Shipping, Matiao Trucking, and Cebu Oversea Hardware Co., Inc., through the Cebu Contractors Association, assisted in the distribution of relief assistance using their wing vans for point-to-point delivery and hauling services of raw materials are also contributing by a lot through their efforts.

The DSWD’s latest tally showed it has provided more than PHP287 million worth of relief assistance to typhoon-hit families. Of which, more than PHP94 million worth of food and non-food items were augmented by the DSWD FO-Central Visayas to localities affected by the typhoon.

The DSWD will continue to augment the necessary resources to assist affected local government units, which are the first responders in disasters and calamities as stipulated in Republic Act (RA) 10121 or the Philippines Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010. (PNA)