DSWD on alert vs bogus ‘Ondoy’ victims

Unscrupulous individuals have been posing as storm victims and taking advantage of relief operations being distributed by the government and various non-government organizations. This was confirmed Thursday by Social Secretary Esperanza Cabral, who said to avoid this, her agency is now in the process of listing the names and addresses of the people in evacuation centers. “Ang problema lang maraming gustong makinabang sa relief goods maski hindi naman sila naging victims ng bagyo o maski pwede naman sila bumili ng pagkain, gusto nila bigyan din sila ng relief goods," Cabral told Senate reporters after attending the hearing on her department’s proposed 2010 budget. (There were some who wanted to receive relief goods even if they were not typhoon victims or even if they can buy their own food.) She admitted that they did not screen those asking for relief goods in the first two days after tropical storm “Ondoy" battered Metro Manila and nearby provinces and rendered thousands of people homeless. “But now we are in the process of registering the victims of the disaster because we are looking forward the recovery and rehabilitation," she said. As of Thursday night, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said "Ondoy" has so far affected 626,625 families or 3,079,231 people. It also left 280 people dead. Cabral said the registration would take several weeks as it needs validation. Those who will be listed will be included in the government’s recovery and rehabilitation program. - GMANews.TV