KORONADAL CITY — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will provide the medical bills of injured residents following the powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck large parts of Mindanao on Wednesday night, a senior government official announced Thursday.

Citing the latest update from the agency’s quick response teams deployed in quake-hit areas in the region, Cezario Joel Espejo, DSWD-12 regional director, said the office will give guarantee letters to 17 villagers of Makilala confined at the town’s Medical Specialist Hospital Inc., and  five others from nearby municipality of Tulunan.

Citing the latest update from the agency’s quick response teams deployed in quake-hit areas in the region, Cezario Joel Espejo, DSWD-12 regional director, said the office will give guarantee letters to 17 villagers of Makilala confined at the town’s Medical Specialist Hospital Inc., and  five others from nearby municipality of Tulunan.

According to Dir. Espejo, fourteen houses were destroyed in Tulunan while the 500 households that evacuated to safer grounds in Ilomabis village of Kidapawan City after the quake have already returned to their respective homes.  

“We will  ensure we provide the needs of affected individuals are well taken care of,” Dir. Espejo said.

Dir. Espejo also reported a team from the Regional Disaster Risk and Management Council (RDRRMC) will join in a ground assessment scheduled Friday.  

The tectonic tremor, recorded  with a depth of 15 kilometers  around 7:37 p.m., was traced  22 kilometers southeast of Tulunan town in the province of North Cotabato.  

The Philippines sits on the so-called Ring of Fire, a large area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean where shifting tectonic plates often cause tremors, according to seismologists. (Jeoffrey Maitem / DSWD)