By Alfonso T. Ruda
DIPOLOG CITY - The field
office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) based in this
city has dispatched 10 personnel to Zamboanga City to assist in addressing the
needs of the affected families by the ongoing gun battle between the government forces and the Moro
National Liberation Front (MNLF)-Misuari faction.
Provincial
team leader Alex Sabal disclosed that the personnel sent to Zamboanga City last
Saturday were composed of social workers and psychologists. They would assist
in the relief distribution and conduct stress debriefing among the evacuees.
The
team also brought with them assorted relief goods consisting of ready-to-ear
clothes (ukay-ukay) and assorted toys for the children at the evacuation
center.
The
relief goods came from the different municipalities, religious organizations
and private individuals who responded to the appeal of the DSWD for assistance
to standoff victims.
As
of Saturday the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) in Zamboanga City reported
that 11,629 families or 62,289 individuals are now placed in evacuation
centers. Of this number, 7,924 families or 44,479 individuals took shelter at
the Zamboanga City Sports Complex.
This
number is expected to rise as evacuation continues due to the continuing
encounter between the government troops and the rogue MNLF combatants in the
area.
Office
of Civil Defense Region 9 Director Adrian Fuego said that around 25,500 food
packs from the Red Cross were already distributed.
DSWD-9
has already distributed P1,945,210 worth of food with the Zamboanga City
government giving P1.33 million of assorted relief aid. (PIA9)