DSWD prepositions food packs in 3 regions for 'Marce'

MANILA – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Thursday assured that it has over 220,000 boxes of family food packs (FFPs) prepositioned in its storage facilities in the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley and Cordillera regions, ready to augment the resources of local government units (LGUs) for their disaster response amid Typhoon Marce (international name Yinxing).

Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said the DSWD Field Office 2-Cagayan Valley has initially provided 250 FFPs and 250 non-food items (NFIs) to evacuated residents of the coastal town of Maconacon in Isabela province.

From the same report, she said a total of 1,133 families or 3,275 individuals have been affected by Typhoon Marce across the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, and the Cordillera Administrative Region.

The DRMG official said despite the ongoing disaster response for Kristine (Trami) and Leon (Kong-rey), the agency has an available national stockpile of 1,338,604 boxes of FFPs strategically prepositioned across its hubs, spokes, and last-mile facilities.

She said under the directive of Secretary Rex Gatchalian, the DSWD has fully activated the hubs in Central Luzon to bolster the production of relief supplies and facilitate the delivery of aid in nearby areas that also bore the brunt of the recent weather disturbances.

"Nagdagdag din tayo ng production hubs dito sa Central Luzon para madagdagan yung mga family food packs na pino-produce sa NROC [National Resource Operations Center] at mas mapabilis pa yung paghahatid ng karagdagang tulong dito sa (We also added production hubs in Central Luzon to augment the FFPs produced by the NROC to expedite the delivery of additional aid to) Regions 1,2, and again, CAR," Dumlao told reporters at the Thursday Media Forum at the DSWD Central Office in Quezon City,

In the same forum, Dumlao reported that the DSWD has so far extended 1,242,448 boxes of FFPs to families and individuals affected by Kristine and Leon nationwide.

"Gayundin po, mahigit na 38,000 na mga non-food items na kinabibilangan po ng mga hygiene, family at sleeping kits ang naipamahagi ng DSWD sa mga apektadong (More than 38,000 non-food items, including hygiene, family and sleeping kits, were distributed to the affected) local government units," she said.

The DSWD has also disbursed over P21.6 million in cash aid under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) and the Ayuda Para sa Kapos Ang Kita Program (AKAP).

The cash assistance, Dumlao said, was given to the bereaved families of the casualties, as well as to those whose houses and livelihoods were damaged and compromised. (PNA)