MORE RELIEF AID. Some 24 trucks from Region 12 carrying the second batch of relief aid make a stopover along the highway in the Buhangin area in Davao City on Tuesday (Dec. 28, 2021) while on its way to the typhoon-hit Caraga Region. The relief assistance also included gallons filled with drinking water for Caraga residents. (Photo courtesy of DILG-12) KORONADAL CITY - In keeping with the government's mandate to provide help to the victims of Typhoon Odette, government agencies here in Soccsksargen (Region 12), through the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force, have consolidated their efforts to send more basic needs to the affected areas. During a send-off ceremony on Tuesday at the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) 12 grounds, food items, clothing, sanitary kits, and drinkable water were delivered by a convoy of 24 vehicles to the Caraga Region. Teams from the region's Department of Social Welfare and Development, Office of the Civil Defense, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, Philippine National Police, and the Department of Public Works and Highways were also sent to join the caravan dubbed as "Pamaskong Handog ng Dose sa Trese." The South Cotabato provincial government and the private sector through the RD Foundation, Sarangani Chamber of Commerce, and others also sent their relief assistance. Josephine Leysa, DILG-12 director, has thanked partner agencies and the private sector for responding to their call on such short notice. "We might proceed with the third wave of our relief and assistance drive (RAD) due to the overwhelming support from other sectors," Leysa said. DSWD-12 Assistant Regional Director Bonifacio Sema said as a contribution to the inter-agency effort, they had donated family food packs for the typhoon-affected areas. "We have 5,000 family food packs as a promise for the second wave, as an augmentation to the relief goods gathered by other government agencies and private sector," Sema said. The first tranche of aid from Region 12 was delivered to Caraga by DILG-12 personnel last week. (PNA) }