By Charissa Luci-Atienza The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has dispatched additional Quick Response Teams (QRTs) to the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) region to assist in the ongoing relief operations for victims of the Jan. 12 Taal Volcano eruption. Department of Social Welfare and Development (MANILA BULLETIN) DSWD Secretary Rolando Joselito D. Bautista has ordered the dispatch of QRTs from the Central Office (CO) and Field Offices (FOs) to augment the workforce at the DSWD Field Office in Calabarzon to respond to the needs of affected local government units (LGUs). In an interview with the Manila Bulletin on Tuesday afternoon, Bautista said that amid the downgrading of Taal Volcano’s Alert Level to 3, the DSWD will continue to provide assistance to the evacuees. "Members of the QRTs will be deployed to various evacuation centers in the affected areas to assist in camp coordination and camp management, Disaster Assistance Family Access Card (DAFAC) profiling, and in the distribution of relief goods to evacuees, among others," the DSWD said in a statement. It noted the Department’s Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) and Field Offices I, II, III, and V have been deployed to the affected areas. "Before deployment, the teams were briefed on the situation of the relief operations in the Region and the roles and responsibilities expected from them," the DSWD said. The DSWD- Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC) reported that as of Wednesday (Jan. 29), 124,764 families or 464,728 persons in Calabarzon have been affected by the eruption. "Some 19,131 families or 66,989 individuals are taking temporary shelter in 415 evacuation centers in Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, and Quezon; while 60,538 families or 225,389 persons are currently staying with their relatives and/or friends," the report said. The DSWD said it has extended P13 million assistance to the evacuees as augmentation support following the request of the LGUs. The relief assistance consists of 29,043 Family Food Packs (FFPs), 6,360 ready-to-eat food packs, 1,870 sleeping kits, and 4,643 plastic mats. The DSWD disclosed that the Calabarzon Field Office is expected to receive ₱20.7 million for the implementation the Cash-for-Work (CFW) program as part of DSWD’s early recovery and rehabilitation plan for families affected by the eruption of Taal. The agency said it will coordinate with concerned LGUs for the implementation of the CFW. "Initially, DSWD is facilitating the sub-allotment and transfer of funds amounting to ₱20,700,000 to FO Calabarzon for the implementation of CFW for internally displaced persons," it said. According to DSWD, CFW is a short-term intervention to provide temporary employment to distressed or displaced individuals by having them participate in or undertake preparedness, mitigation, relief, rehabilitation, or risk reduction projects and activities in their communities or in evacuation centers. Under the CFW program, in exchange for the work rendered, beneficiaries are provided with cash to meet their requirement for food and other basic necessities. "LGUs will identify the beneficiaries and the appropriate CFW activities in accordance with appropriate guidelines," the DSWD said. "The Department maintains its close coordination with concerned LGUs for the continuous provision of technical assistance and resource augmentation to help them respond to the needs of the affected residents."