BAGUIO CITY (PIA) - - The Department of Social Welfare and Development – Cordillera (DSWD – CAR) is in constant   coordination with local government units and disaster risk reduction and management councils for close monitoring of Typhoon Betty – affected families to ensure that needed assistance are  immediately provided.

DSWD – CAR Regional Director Leo Quintilla reported  that as of May 30 monitoring data, 20 families (13 from Benguet and 7 from Apayao) with around 54 individuals  were affected by Typhoon Betty in three barangays in the  two provinces in Cordillera.

Quintilla said  immediate assistance in terms of family food packs and hygiene kits were already provided to the affected population, in coordination with the concerned  local government units, the Office of Civil Defense and other Response Cluster member agencies of the Cordillera Regional DRRM Council.  

The DSWD through the Assistance in Crisis Situation (AICS) program  likewise  released P5,000 assistance to one family in Conner , Apayao  whose house  was   partially damaged due to Typhoon Betty, he added.                                                                                       

Quintilla also assured that DSWD – CAR through the regional operations center and local social welfare and development officers remain  on heightened monitoring to ensure that immediate assistance will be provided to the affected population as Typhoon Betty continues to bring moderate to strong rains in the different areas of Cordillera.

What is important is that we are prepared to respond to any disaster and our local social welfare officers closely monitor          typhoon – affected families to look into their needs and make sure that it is immediately provided to them, he stressed.

Quintilla shared that there are 58,326 Family Food Packs worth around P43 million and 27,946 non - food items (NFIs) that are strategically prepositioned in regional and satellite warehouses and several LGUs, especially in geographically isolated and disadvantage areas in the region.

DSWD – CAR also has a standby quick reaction fund worth P4.43 million that is ready for utilization for any disaster or emergencies, he added.

As per PAGASA forecast, the Southwest monsoon and Typhoon Betty will continue to bring scattered rain showers and thunderstorm to Cordillera. As of 3:00 pm  of May 31, Typhoon Betty was estimated based on all available data at 395 km East of Northern Itbayat, Batanes with a maximum sustained winds of 120 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 150 km/hr and it is moving northward at 15 km/h. (JDP/CCD-/PIA CAR)