Relief packs worth P1.5M for landslide affected-families turned over to Toledo City gov’t
The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD-7) has turned over to the Toledo City government on Christmas Day P1.5 million worth of relief goods consisting of food, hygiene kits, blankets, and utensils for the 400 households in Barangay Biga that will be relocated following the landslide in an open-mining pit.| Photo from DSWD-7
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD – 7) has turned over 700 relief packs to the local government of Toledo City on Friday, December 25. These are intended for the families that will be moved to an evacuation center soon.
“On December 25, 2020, the LGU (local government unit) of Toledo City picked up the relief assistance, which includes 700 family food packs and non-food items like 350 hygiene kits; 40 kitchen kits; 1,400 malong; 3,500 cups; 3,500 plates, and 16 empty drums, from the regional warehouse of DSWD-7,” the agency said in a statement released on December 26.
The relief assistance, worth a total of P1.5 million, was part of the Toledo City government’s plans to relocate around 400 households or thousands of individuals in Barangay Biga, who reside near the landslide site at the Carmen Pit of Carmen Copper Corporation (CCC).
John Roseller Layan, information officer (IO) of Toledo City government, told CDN Digital in a phone interview that local officials were now finalizing logistics for the evacuation.
“We will be implementing the evacuation as soon as everything is put in place. The mayor (Marjorie Perales) wanted this to be done as soon as possible so people could celebrate the Holidays safely,” said Layan in Cebuano.
He also said they had identified areas where the families would be housed temporarily, and they had tapped the assistance of DSWD-7 to augment their efforts in providing basic necessities for the affected families.
“It was recommended during the meeting that we can ask for assistance from the regional office of DSWD. We’re grateful they (DSWD) were willing to help out in providing additional relief packs. The local government has sufficient supplies but it’s better that we have extra just in case the families’ stay may be prolonged,” Layan explained.
Search and retrieval operations began last Christmas Day, December 25, for the six miners in CCC who remained missing following the landslide that occurred last December 21.
Four were already confirmed dead.
CCC’s own geologists earlier informed the local government of Toledo City about widening cracks near Carmen Pit that could pose a risk to residents living near the area.
This prompted the city government to initiate an evacuation of at least 400 families in Barangay Biga whose houses belonged within the classified danger zone or those found within the 500-meter radius from the landslide site. /dbs
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