The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), through its Field Office (FO) MIMAROPA, is set to distribute assistance to families affected by the oil spill brought by the capsized motor tanker (MT) Princess Empress in Oriental Mindoro.

Based on initial reports, affected families from six municipalities in Oriental Mindoro will receive family food packs which will start today, March 4, 2023. These families are from the municipalities of Naujan, Pola, Pinamalayan, Bongabong, Gloria, and Bansud.

Meanwhile the FO MIMAROPA and the Social Welfare and Development Team (SWADT) Oriental Mindoro, together with Provincial/ City/ Municipal Quick Response Team (P/C/MQRT) on-duty are closely monitoring and coordinating with the concerned Provincial/ Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (P/MDRRMC) for other necessary updates.

Currently, FO MIMAROPA has prepositioned more than P78.9 million worth of standby and stockpile funds composed of some 42,400 FFPs and standby funds amounting to P7.2 million which can be tapped to augment assistance to affected municipalities in Oriental Mindoro.

The DSWD will continue to monitor the locals affected to ensure that their needs are immediately met. ###