On 29 October 2022, Tropical Storm Nalgae, locally known as Paeng, hit the Philippines making its first landfall in Virac, Catanduanes in the Bicol Region.
Based on the 04 November 2022 Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC) report from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), barely a week since its initial blow, around 4.8M individuals were affected all over the country wherein around 152,000 individuals are currently seeking refuge in 823 evacuation centers and around 896,000 individuals are temporarily staying with either family or friends outside evacuation centers.
In BARMM, joint rapid needs assessments by the government and humanitarian actors were conducted in various affected areas in Maguindanao and inter-agency meetings were called upon announcing the activation of the Clusters to work on the response plan out of the results of the conducted needs assessments.
Around 470,000 individuals were reported to have been displaced in BARMM—all coming from the Provinces of Maguindanao. In the other regions of Mindanao, on the other hand, although not placed under a state of calamity by the national government, several displacements caused by the onslaught of the tropical storms still occurred. As of reporting, protection monitoring is continuously being conducted in coordination with various concerned regional line agencies in Mindanao and other humanitarian actors to bridge the gaps in terms of the protection needs of the affected individuals.
OPERATIONAL SUPPORT
- Protection Monitoring and Mainstreaming
In coordination with other humanitarian actors, UNHCR is continuously conducting protection monitoring through the support of operational partners in all the regions in Mindanao especially in BARMM where the typhoon’s aftermath was felt the most. UNHCR continues to provide a link to the duty-bearers and the rights-holders by documenting the issues of the persons of concern through the regular release of Situational Reports and IDP Protection Assessment Reports to government and humanitarian partners. - Provision of Core Relief Items
As a result of the follow-up series of assessments conducted by protection partners from both government and non-government agencies, core relief items (CRIs) consisting of plastic tarpaulins, solar lamps, and mosquito nets were distributed by UNHCR through CFSI on 12 November 2022 in the municipalities of Datu Blah Sinsuat, Datu Odin Sinsuat, and South Upi. More than 2,900 individuals were provided with life-saving assistance in these three communities in Maguindanao.
Photo ℅ CFSI
Photo ℅ CFSI
Photo ℅ CFSI
Photo ℅ CFSI
Photo ℅ CFSI
COORDINATION SUPPORT
- IDP Protection Cluster Co-Leadership
The Protection Cluster in the BARMM region continues to be activated as of this report and UNHCR together with UNICEF and UNFPA remain active in co-leading the cluster with the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD). The cluster continues to hold its weekly meeting to collectively share, refer, and address the pressing protection needs of IDPs due to STS Nalgae. During the second cluster meeting that was conducted on 10 November 2022, cluster members presented the responses undertaken by the cluster members including the other urgent protection issues in need of attention. - Information Management Support
UNHCR as the Protection Cluster co-lead agency continues to provide technical information management support to the MSSD. The IM support aims to advance the protection coordination agenda of the cluster. On 10 November 2022, the cluster agreed on an inter-cluster response tracking tool to harmonize intervention, ensure the complementarity of support, and minimize duplication. Due to lack of dedicated IM focal for some clusters, MSSD agreed to have this tool as the official repository of response datasets.
Emergency Situation Reports: