The Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office 7 distributed a total of 2,057 Family Food Packs (FFPs) to families in Barangay Cantao-an, City of Naga, on separate schedules, following the reported occurrence of tension cracks in the barangay.

Of the total FFPs delivered, Field Office 7 initially provided 52 FFPs worth Php 27.3 thousand to the LGU City of Naga on December 13, 2023 for the families directly affected by the cracks and immediately evacuated them to the open camp. While the remaining 2,005 were distributed on January 17, 2024.

The local government unit verified that there have been ground cracks and movements since September 2022.

Each family received one (1) FFP, and the total cost of the delivered assistance reached PHP 1.2 million.

Prior to the delivery of food packs, DSWD Field Office 7 immediately coordinated with the City Government of the City of Naga, Cebu and DENR’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau after a news report surfaced in social media showing big cracks and a call for help from the residents themselves.

The DSWD-7’s City Action Team (CAT) assigned in the City of Naga were then activated and directed to be in close contact with their counterparts, look into the situation on the ground, and immediately send a report and assessment to the Field Office for the delivery of appropriate response.

Following verification and validation of the ground movements in the fourth quarter of 2023, the LGU, as a precautionary measure, advised the families to take temporary shelter in an open evacuation center that the LGU set up, while a few are currently staying with their relatives.

Moreover, based on DSWD-7’s Disaster Response Operations Management and Information Center (DROMIC) Report No. 3 on the Tension Crack in the City of Naga, published on January 13, 2024, there are already a total of 2,121 affected families, composed of 7,716 of which there are 61 families or 232 individuals inside Cantao-an Elementary School Evacuation Center.

Furthermore, 2,060 families, or 7,484 people, have stayed outside the evacuation center with relatives or friends.

For their part, LGU City of Naga has provided water supply, bed foam, food packs, electricity wiring, and drinking water to the affected families.

In her statement in a recent press release by the DSWD Central Office, DSWD-7 Regional Director Shalaine Marie S. Lucero assures LGU City of Naga, Cebu, that the Field Office is ready to deliver other interventions needed by the affected families upon their request.

As of posting, CAT and staff members of the Disaster Response Management Division are in continuous communication with the Social Welfare and Development Office and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office for any updates regarding this incident. ###

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