DAVAO CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) confirmed that no family affected by the powerful earthquakes off Davao Oriental will go hungry following a direct order from President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.
A magnitude-7.4 quake struck off the coast of Manay, Davao Oriental at 9:43 a.m. on October 10, 2025, followed by a second magnitude-6.8 temblor at 7:12 p.m. the same day, prompting widespread alerts and emergency operations.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said agencies are operating in an interoperable manner to deliver food and essential services, citing the President’s directive that “no affected family will go hungry.”
“Interoperable yung mga offices namin. So, pagdating sa pagkain alinsunod sa utos ng pangulo. Walang pamilyang apektado ang magugutom, sisiguraduhin niya po yun,” Gatchalian said.
(Our offices are interoperable. So when it comes to food, in accordance with the President’s directive, no affected family will go hungry, he will make sure of that).
He said secretaries from Department of Education (DepEd), DSWD, and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) were ordered to deploy to affected sites to coordinate needs for Region 11 and local government units (LGUs). Two large tents for damaged hospital facilities were deployed on the evening of October 11 by provincial and national partners.
Gatchalian said DSWD has pre-positioned inventory across warehouses nationwide, including hundreds of thousands of family food packs in the Davao Region and ongoing repacking operations in Manila and Cebu that produce about 25,000 family food packs per day. Stockpiles from neighboring regions such as CARAGA are available for use to sustain relief efforts if required.
DSWD XI data as of 12 of October 7 AM, shows 23,670 food packs valued at over 13 million pesos and 2,344 non-food items valued at more than 24 million pesos were already provided to families in Davao Oriental. Initial assessments indicate 10 municipalities affected, 66,657 families impacted, and 282,323 persons in the affected area, with 1,345 families in evacuation centers, 278 houses totally damaged, and 912 partially damaged.
Gatchalian also said temporary shelter plans are underway in coordination with the Philippine Red Cross and other agencies for families with totally damaged homes. DSWD has also pledged financial assistance for those with partially and totally damaged houses and will continue to coordinate logistics, repacking, and redistribution until local needs are stabilized. (PIA/FRG).
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