JAKARTA - The Department of Social Welfare and Development said 25,001 people remained displaced in southern Philippines as of June 10, 6 AM, two days after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Maasim, Sarangani in Mindanao, according to DSWD-DROMIC’s latest report.
The displaced population covered 5,448 families in Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao Region and Soccsksargen. DSWD said 15,960 people were staying in 31 evacuation centers in Davao Region and Soccsksargen, and another 9,041 people were temporarily staying with relatives or friends.
The same report said 197,750 people, or 43,716 families, had been affected across 231 barangays in Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao Region, Soccsksargen and the Bangsamoro region. Damage to housing reached 7,866 homes, including 1,596 totally damaged and 6,270 partially damaged.
The earthquake struck at 7:37AM on June 8, with a tectonic origin and a depth of 33 kilometers, DSWD said, citing DOST-PHIVOLCS earthquake information. The strongest instrumental intensity listed in the report was Intensity VIII in Malapatan, Sarangani.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in a June 8 statement that the Office of Civil Defense and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council were coordinating disaster response and monitoring across affected areas. “The national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind,” he said.
DSWD said PHP21.4 million in humanitarian assistance had been provided to affected families as of the June 10 update, including PHP21.38 million from the department and PHP20,000 from a local government unit. The agency also listed PHP839.4 million in standby funds and relief stockpiles worth PHP4.4 billion.
In a June 9 release, DSWD said the hardest-hit areas requiring immediate intervention included Glan, Maasim and Malapatan in Sarangani, and Malita, Don Marcelino, Jose Abad Santos and Balut Island in Davao Occidental.
DSWD said its field offices distributed PHP10,000 in financial assistance each to 126 patients at Sarangani Provincial Hospital and 295 patients at Dr. Jorge P. Royeca Hospital. The agency also added that field offices were working with local governments on camp coordination, protection for internally displaced people, and food and non-food relief.
