The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) provided over P4.1 million worth of humanitarian assistance to families affected by the southwest monsoon and Severe Tropical Storm “Crising,” as the agency intensifies its disaster response across affected regions.
Social Welfare Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Irene Dumlao said more than 68,000 families or 215,000 individuals in the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, MIMAROPA, Bicol Region, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, and Zamboanga Peninsula have been affected by Crising, with around 5,400 families staying in evacuation centers.
“President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said that we must ensure the safety and security of our countrymen who have been affected by disasters…This is just initial aid, consisting of family food packs (FFPs) and non-food items,” Dumlao said in a mix of English and Filipino.
To ensure continued assistance, the DSWD maintains more than P2.9 billion in standby funds and stockpiles, comprising Quick Response Funds (QRF) and approximately 3 million FFPs prepositioned strategically across the country, according to the DSWD spokesperson.
“The production of our FFPs is still ongoing at the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) and the Visayas Disaster Response Center (VDRC). If so, if necessary, we can replenish our stockpiles in our regional warehouses, and in the last miles, we can do that immediately because our production is continuous in our major hubs,” Dumlao said.
She said that with the mechanized packing system in the DSWD’s NROC in Pasay and VDRC in Cebu province, the production of FFPs has drastically increased from 5,000 to 10,000 manually packed boxes to 50,000 daily combined output.
The DSWD’s enhanced warehouse inventory system also ensures traceability and food safety. Each box of FFP has a barcode with a manufacturing date, expiry date, and designated area of destination, preventing spoilage and ensuring proper tracking.
