DSWD gives P10,000 each to families of 5 Sorsogon fire fatalities

LEGAZPI CITY, ALBAY, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Bicol provided P10,000 in cash assistance to each of the five families of people who died in a fire that gutted the Sorsogon City Public Market on Saturday night, Oct. 24.

Marygizelle Mesa, DSWD-Bicol regional information officer, said the agency had also arranged funeral assistance for the bereaved families and provided psychological first aid to help them cope with the loss of their loved ones.

Social workers visited the families on Sunday, Oct. 25, to provide psychological first aid, while the agency’s Crisis Intervention Section satellite office in Sorsogon City released the cash assistance under its Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program.

READ: 5 feared dead in Sorsogon City public market fire

The DSWD was also preparing family food packs for 388 vendors whose stalls were affected by the fire. The relief packs were being prepared at the Sirangan village covered court as an initial response to the needs of the displaced vendors.

READ: Sorsogon market fire: Coastal road to host displaced vendors

The food packs came from the agency’s available supplies at its provincial warehouse in Sorsogon, according to the DSWD.

Mesa said agency personnel, led by DSWD-Bicol Regional Director Norman S. Laurio, were coordinating with concerned authorities to determine what additional assistance could be extended to those affected.

The agency would also visit survivors confined in hospitals to provide psychosocial support and financial assistance.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian was monitoring the response to ensure the timely delivery of assistance, in line with the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to help families affected by the fire. /cb