DSWD Issues Hotline for Phone Calls, Texts reporting towns and barangays not receiving relief goods

The Department of Social Welfare and Development and Malacanang have posted a tweet which gives a phone number you can call or text to report towns and barangays who are not receiving aid. The number is 09209463766. You can also tweet to DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman direction — @dinkysunflower, and to DSWD’s official twitter account @dswdserves.  (And there is plenty of evidence that both Dinky Soliman personally and DSWD institutionally, are minding their tweets and texts.

Here is the tweet:

For complaints on #YolandaPH relief distribution. Pls call/text detail of complaints, place & your name to 09209463766 @dinkysunflower

— DSWD (@dswdserves) November 20, 2013

The foregoing is good news and welcome.

Now from stranger news:

In a post on its website the Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) quoted President Benigno Acquino as saying “there is enough supply of relief goods” when meeting with families displaced by Typhoon Yolanda in Tacloban.  According to the release, “Although there are other disaster-stricken areas such as Bohol, Central Luzon, and Zamboanga City where there are still on-going relief operations and rehabilitation efforts, the President made sure that all affected families in Leyte, Samar, and other ‘Yolanda’-devastated provinces will be served.”

DSWD Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Juliano-Soliman (@dinkysunflower on Twitter) chimed in, saying that “the 40 towns in Leyte have already been reached with relief packs.”  I don’t now if that’s a typo, or if “the forty towns in Leyte” is supposed to mean that that’s all there are — 40 towns — and they’ve all been reached.

Of more substance was the following:

As of November 18, DSWD has distributed a total of 579,800 food and rice packs, 39,484 canned goods, 200,897 liters of water, and 98,588 pieces of high-energy biscuits. The town of Guiuan in Eastern Samar is now a base where mayors from nearby municipalities can get goods. Yesterday, DSWD also initially installed 32 tents as temporary shelter for homeless families in Barangays 95 and 59 in Sagkahan, Tacloban, As of today, DSWD has repacked a total of 1,038,983 family food packs  from its various repacking centers in  Regions V, VII, X, XII,  CARAGA and the National Capital Region. Relief ops in other regions Food distribution in other regions hit by Typhoon Yolanda also continues. In Western Visayas, 146,922 food packs were extended to displaced families while 3,192 were distributed in Region IV-B. On the other hand, DSWD-VII provided 55,294 food packs to affected families in Central Visayas. Humanitarian Aid As debris are being cleared on major roads and the port is reopened, the flow of humanitarian aid, particularly relief food, is increasing pace at the DSWD relief warehouse in Tacloban City and other hubs in Ormoc and Guian, Eastern Samar. Yesterday, World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Ertharin Cousin together with WFP Representative and Country Director Praveen Agrawal paid a quick visit at the DSWD relief hub in Tacloban. DSWD Assistant Secretary Camilo Gudmalin ushered in Cousin and Agrawal inside the relief hub to inform them on the repacking and distribution of relief goods. He also briefed them on the process of repacking and releasing goods to affected families in various towns in Leyte and Samar. Earlier, WFP donated high-energy biscuits as well as telecommunications equipment. On the other hand, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) through JICA-Philippines Chief Sasaki Takahiro donated today 2000 sleeping pads, 500 tents, 620 plastic sheets, 20 generators, 20 cord reel and 20 water purifier for Ormoc, San Isidro, Tacloban, Palo, Tanauan, Basey, and Guiuan. Likewise, DSWD received various goods from other international donors such as tents, blankets, tarpaulins, plastic sheets, medicines, and hygiene kits. Secretary Soliman said that national government is mobilizing the manpower and resources of all government agencies to speed up the relief, rescue, and rehabilitation of ‘Yolanda’-hit provinces.# # # – See more at: http://www.dswd.gov.ph/2013/11/pnoy-assures-enough-relief-for-all-yolanda-victims/#sthash.SzoV3z21.dpuf

DSWD TWEETS OF INTEREST (@dswdserves)

Sec. Soliman @dinkysunflower reassured the public that government has enough relief goods to sustain the Yolanda disaster operations.

— DSWD (@dswdserves) November 20, 2013

More volunteers needed to repack goods in DSWD-Region6 Molo, Iloilo and Iloilo Sports Complex covered gym. Thanks.

— DSWD (@dswdserves) November 20, 2013

700,000 relief packs already distributed by DSWD in E. Visayas http://t.co/AbfgGxkEJq @dinkysunflower @govph

— DSWD (@dswdserves) November 19, 2013

To all interested volunteers, NROC is operating 24 hours. Pl. proceed directly to NROC in Pasay City. For details, call 459-2131, 527-8000.

— DSWD (@dswdserves) November 19, 2013

DWSD DENIES REPACKING AND RELABELING FOREIGN AID

Int’l relief not repacked as DSWD’s – Sec. Soliman

Posted on 19 November 2013.

“We do not repack, much more relabel, the individually packed international donations that are sent to us.”
This is the statement made by Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman after reports circulated in social media that staff of the DSWD Satellite Repacking Center at the Mactan Airbase in Cebu repackage the already pre-packed food relief donated by Indonesia and place them in bags bearing the Department’s name.
“We just had to take out the bottled condiments in the packs as they will make the goods more difficult to transport and handle. This will also prevent contamination of other items in the bags in case they get broken,” she explained.
The bottled items and other breakables were then put together in a separate container and labeled ‘fragile.’
Sec. Soliman further expounded that it is the responsibility of the DSWD to check the relief goods sent to the agency.
“We have to ensure that all relief goods particularly food items are fit for human consumption and still in good condition. That is why we inspect the contents of the bags, especially their expiration dates,” she said.
She made clear that the only donations they unpac
– See more at: http://www.dswd.gov.ph/2013/11/intl-relief-not-repacked-as-dswds-sec-soliman/#sthash.MwWudtYf.dpuf