Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando Bautista assured that the government has enough resources to assist residents affected by the phreatomagmatic eruption of Taal Volcano on March 26.

“Upang agaran nating maipaabot ang tulong, mayroon tayong prepositioned food and non-food items na nagkakahalaga halos ng 80 milyong piso sa General Mariano Alvarez Warehouse sa Cavite at Batangas Sports Complex (In order for us to immediately extend assistance, we have prepositioned food and non-food items worth nearly P80 million at the General Mariano Alvarez Warehouse in Cavite and Batangas Sports Complex),” Bautista said in a taped televised briefing on Tuesday evening, March 29.

“Ang breakdown nito ay kumulang sa 15,000 food and non-food items ang nakatalaga sa Batangas Sports Complex at mayroong halos 18,000 food and non-food items naman sa area ng Batangas Sports Complex (The breakdown is approximatelt 15,000 food and non-food items assigned to the Batangas Sports Complex and about 18,000 food and non-food items in the Batangas Sports Complex area),” he said.

Bautista said that the DSWD has prepared other activities to respond to the needs of residents affected by the Taal Volcano’s recent unrest.

“Una, mag-i-install tayo ng advance satellite office sa Provincial Operations Center upang ma-monitor ang sitwasyon sa ground at mapangasiwaan ang relief operations kung kailanganin. Depende po ito kung tataas ang alert level (First, we will install an advance satellite office at the Provincial Operations Center to monitor the situation on the ground and oversee relief operations if needed. It depends on whether the alert level increases),” Bautista said.

The DSWD chief said they are also preparing for the deployment of emergency telecommunication equipment, such as two-way radios and satellite phones to maintain lines of communication and continue to facilitate coordination in case the networks lose signal.

“Pangatlo ay ang ating pakikipag-ugnayan sa ating mga logistics partners kagaya ng World Food Programme at Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation para sa karagdagang land transportation assets na maaaring i- augment sa kagawaran (Third is our engagement with our logistics partners such as the World Food Program and the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation for additional land transportation assets that can be augmented in the department),” Bautista added.

The DSWD is also involved in local government conducting Rapid Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis to determine the immediate needs in the affected areas, he also said.

Bautista also assured the ongoing monitoring of volcanic updates from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and the Department of Science and Technology.

“At ang panghuli, tayo po ay nagmomobilisa ng mga volunteers sa National Resource Operations Center para sa mas mabilis na pagre-repack ng mga relief supplies na kailangan batay sa pre-disaster needs analysis (Finally, we are mobilizing volunteers at the National Resource Operations Center for faster repacking of relief supplies needed based on pre-disaster needs analysis),” he added.