QUEZON CITY -- Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando Joselito Bautista continues to monitor the ongoing disaster response efforts of DSWD-Field Office CALABARZON  in Batangas as the Taal Volcano remains unstable.

Secretary Bautista, along with DSWD Field Office IV-A Regional Director Marcelo Nicomedes Castillo, visited the Ticub Evacuation Center in Laurel, Batangas on July 16 to check on the conditions of the evacuees.

Based on the latest report, the town of Laurel has the most number of displaced families numbering to 122 or 412 individuals, who are taking temporary shelter in three designated evacuation centers in the municipality. Earlier this month, the DSWD Secretary visited some evacuation centers in Laurel and Agoncillo and assured support to the affected families.

Also, during his visit to the province, Secretary Bautista proceeded to Barangay Malainin in Ibaan to inspect the site for the soon to rise DSWD Regional Warehouse in the area.

On July 12, the DSWD and the Provincial Government of Batangas signed a Memorandum of Agreement for the construction of the warehouse. Expected to be constructed within five years, the warehouse will serve as a storage facility of relief goods and other stockpiles of DSWD for disaster victims in the province and nearby areas.

The Department continues to coordinate with concerned LGUs in the province to monitor the situation and to assess how the residents affected by the Taal Volcanic activity can be better assisted. (DSWD)