The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office V – Bicol Region has successfully provided Php 7,652,287.84 in financial and immediate aid to a total of 474 families affected by fire incidents across the Bicol Region in the first quarter of 2025.
From January to March, DSWD Bicol responded to 111 fire-related incidents, swiftly delivering essential relief to affected communities. Among the provinces, Camarines Sur recorded the highest number of fire incidents, totaling 69, with 73 families affected. This was followed by Albay with 16 fire incidents and 23 affected families, and Masbate, Camarines Norte, and Catanduanes, which reported 13 fire incidents, affecting a total of 18 families.
Meanwhile, Sorsogon recorded nine fire incidents, including the most devastating fire in Barangay Banuyo, Pilar, where 360 families lost their homes on March 14, 2025.
The Field Office provided essential aid including financial, funeral, and medical assistance, Family Food Packs and Non-Food Items to various provinces affected by the fire incidents, distributing aid as follows: PHP 915,417.93 in Camarines Sur, PHP 194,805.68 in Albay, PHP 107,128.27 in Masbate, PHP 115,559.68 in Camarines Norte, and PHP 37,941.67 in Catanduanes. Meanwhile, with the largest recorded fire incident occurred in Sorsogon, the agency extended PHP 6,281,434.61 in aid.
DSWD Bicol Regional Director Norman S. Laurio emphasized that the assistance extended to fire-hit families goes beyond cash aid. Relief efforts included the distribution of Family Food Packs (FFPs), non-food items such as hygiene kits, and psychosocial support, particularly for children and senior citizens.
Under the leadership of DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, the agency continues to uphold its commitment to assisting the poor, vulnerable, and disadvantaged communities. Through the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) Program and the Disaster Response Management Division (DRMD), the Department seeks to ease the suffering of individuals facing unexpected crises and support them for their recovery.
In an interview with Mr. Jonah G. Cabongcal, 26, one of the beneficiaries in the massive fire in Brgy. Banuyo Pilar, Sorsogon, expressed her heartfelt gratitude towards the agency for the prompt disaster response.
โ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐ข ๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ช๐ต๐ธ๐ข๐ด๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ, ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ ๐ด๐ข ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ด ๐ฏ๐ช๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ข๐จ๐ต๐ถ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ข ๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ข๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ต๐ข๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐จ. ๐๐ข๐จ๐ฃ๐ช๐จ๐ข๐บ ๐ด๐ช๐ญ๐ข ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ง ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ต๐ถ๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ข๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ, ๐จ๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ต ๐ด๐ข ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฉ๐ข๐บ, ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ถ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ, ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ฃ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐จ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐ฏ. ๐๐ถ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ข ๐ฅ๐ช๐ต๐ฐ, ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐จ๐ข๐ฑ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฎ๐ช ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ถ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด๐บ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฏ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐ช ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ฃ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฎ๐ช ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ญ๐ข ๐ด๐ข ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐บ๐ข. ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ ๐ด๐ข ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ด๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ข, ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฃ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐ด๐ข๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ด๐ข ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ,” he stated.
The swift distribution of financial and relief aid underscores DSWD Bicolโs dedication to serving communities in times of distress. The agency continues to collaborate with local government units and partner organizations to ensure prompt and efficient assistance to affected families.