P1.5-billion DSWD funds on standby for 'Paeng' relief operations
A total of 1,512,200,382.42 cash assistance is on standby and ready to be used for severe tropical storm Paeng relief operations nationwide, said Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Erwin Tulfo at a council meeting with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Saturday, Oct. 29.

This amount, Tulfo added, will be distributed upon the request of local government units (LGUs) but he had also instructed some DSWD Field Offices (FOs) regional directors to take the initiative of contacting LGU officials to ask for their area of responsibility's needed assistance.
The DSWD secretary also said that P372.57 million worth of Quick Response Fund is on standby at the DSWD Central Office while P72.72 million cash aid is available in DSWD FOs across the country which can be used for the needs of "Paeng" victims through inter-FO augmentation.
Moreover, Tulfo stated in his report that there are 504,933 family food packs (FFPs) available in DSWD FOs and 74,315 FFPs in its Disaster Response Centers in Pasay City and Mandaue City.
Also, there are P701.71 million worth of food and non-food items readied at DSWD's other Disaster Response Centers and FO warehouses.
There was a total of P462,872 worth of initial assistance dispensed to the affected families in Regions 6, 7, and Caraga, P49,590 of this amount came from the LGUs Tulfo said.
While the agency cannot send direct help yet to Maguindanao due to severe weather conditions, Tulfo assured that DSWD FO in Region 12 has been continuously assisting and sending aid to the province.
Tulfo mentioned that he alerted and instructed the agency's FOs to preposition its relief goods and cash assistance as early as last Wednesday, and almost all FOs in the country are prepared with the necessary aid.