By Charissa Luci-Atienza
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) assured the public on Sunday (March 29) of the "timely" delivery of relief assistance to local government units (LGUs) nationwide.
The DSWD made the commitment after it clarified a circulating social media post showing the placement of DSWD logo stickers on canned goods which supposedly resulted in the delayed distribution of the food items to its intended recipients.
The "relief goods given to local government units (LGUs) as part of its resource augmentation support to them while under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) are delivered in a timely manner based on their request for augmentation," DSWD said in a statement.
The department also clarified that the DSWD's logo is placed on the family food pack (FFP) boxes, instead of on canned items, "for proper identification and to maintain the integrity of the relief supplies."
"It does not have its logo on canned goods," they said.
Each FFP contains six kilos of rice, four cans of sardines, four cans of corned beef or beef loaf, and six sachets of coffee or cereal energy drink which is enough for two days for a family with five members, the DSWD said.
"The provision of additional relief items is part of the Department’s mandate to provide technical assistance and resource augmentation (TARA) to LGUs during times of emergencies," it said.
In the "Laging Handa" briefing aired on state-run PTV-4 over the weekend, DSWD Spokesperson Irene Dumlao said as of Saturday (March 28), the DSWD has provided P35 million worth of assistance to LGUs nationwide during the ECQ.
Among the recipients of the FFPs are 17 LGUs in the national capital region, she said.
She said FFPs were also distributed to Region 1 (Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan); Region 3 (Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampnga, Zambales); Calabarzon (Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, and Rizal); Region 5 (Albay, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Catanduanes, Masbate, and Sorsogon); Region 6; Region 7 (Bohol and Cebu); Region 8 (Eatern Samar); Region 9 (Basilan); Region 11 (Davao del Sur and Davao del Sur); and Cordillera Administrative Region (Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao and Baguio City.
She said the DSWD "provides technical assistance and resource augmentation to LGUs to capacitate them in delivering social welfare services" to the marginalized and poor sectors.