Franco Jancinto, 30 years old, lives with his wife and only child in a coastal area in Zone 4, Barangay Sibalat in the municipality of Magsaysay, Occidental Mindoro.

Their only source of income is fishing. However, their location puts them at high risk in times of disaster such as typhoons and tsunami.

On the night of Oct. 25, 2020, Franco’s family was among those evacuated by their barangay officials to designated evacuation centers. This was hours before Typhoon Quinta (I.N. Molave) made its fifth landfall over the MIMAROPA region at 3:30 a.m. Monday, October 26. Although they remained safe in the evacuation center, their house and boat were battered by the destructive winds and torrential rains.

With their house totally damaged, Franco’s family are currently living with his in-laws who live in Zone 1. During the day, he returns to his house by the beach to slowly rebuild it and repair his boat and other fishing equipment.

Food is their primary need as they have no source of income, depending solely on fishing. Because of the bad weather and turbulent waves, he could not sail further away from the shore to have a good fish catch, days before the typhoon hit the province. After the typhoon damaged his boat, he could no longer sail and have no alternative source of income.

Franco is one of the many residents affected by TY Quinta. They need food, shelter, and livelihood assistance. He is one of the 578 beneficiaries who received in-kind assistance including food packs and hygiene kits under the Emergency Relief Response Project by the Southern Tagalog People’s Response Center, Inc. (STPRC) and Citizen’s Disaster Response Center Foundation, Inc. (CDRC) with support from Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (DKH).

“I am very grateful because even though our place is very far, we were still chosen to receive these relief packs that will help us get by in the next few days,” Franco says with appreciation. Aside from food assistance, he also expressed need for fishing gears and supplies such as net, rope, and nylon to help him get back to his livelihood.