KITCHARAO, AGUSAN DEL NORTE – Displaced due to an encounter between the 29th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army and alleged CPP-NPA members on June 10, 2018, a total of 126 families or 521 internally displaced persons were provided immediate relief assistance through the joint initiatives of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Caraga, local government units, and various organizations.
OIC Regional Director Mita Chuchi Gupana – Lim expressed her appreciation of the town’s local government and other non-government organizations which quickly responded to the needs of the affected families who sought temporary shelter for 14 days at Brgy. Bangayan Covered Court.
“The immediate relief assistance provided by the LGU and different organizations just shows us how we collectively combat the existence of war and conflict through unity,” Lim said, adding that DSWD will always be ready to be on the frontline in serving especially the calamity-stricken families.
The LGU and other government agencies provided food assistance amounting to PhP183, 970 while DSWD-Caraga provided PhP216, 846 worth of non-food items as augmentation support.
LGU Kitcharao, through the Municipal Social Welfare Development Office, provided family food packs to the families, alongside a feeding program for the children.
On June 14, the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) also donated family food packs consisting of ¼ kg dried fish, five kg rice, and two grams salt.
Furthermore, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) provided family food packs amounting to PhP133, 100, consisting of 5 kg rice, 5 packs of instant noodles, 5 tin cans of sardines and corned beef, and 5 sachets of 3in1 coffee. The office also distributed non-food items consisting of nine blankets, 121 sleeping mats and mosquito nets, 121 toothbrushes, 24 hygiene kits, and 20 pails.
The Philippine Red Cross also provided family food packs amounting to PhP30, 870 consisting of 5 kg rice, 5 tin cans of sardines and 5 packs of instant noodles.
Last June 24, the affected families already returned to their respective houses after a send-off ceremony headed by the PDRRMO.###(MIKE ARIEL P. PLAZA/Social Marketing Unit/DSWD Field Office Caraga)