The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Monday, Oct. 28 that it continues to support local government units (LGUs) affected by Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine” (Trami) through the augmentation of their food packs.
“Under the directives of Secretary Rex Gatchalian, the DSWD still has sufficient stockpiles prepositioned in the agency’s hubs, spokes, and last mile warehouses in all field offices to meet the requirements of LGUs for their respective disaster operations,” said Leo Quintilla, DSWD’s Special Assistant to the Secretary for Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) and Officer-in-Charge of the National Resource and Logistics Management Bureau Leo Quintilla said.
As of 6 a.m. on Oct. 27, the DSWD has delivered 672,837 boxes of family food packs to the affected regions.
Over 200,000 boxes were sent to Bicol alone, which was the hardest-hit region.
Distribution details include 78,613 boxes to Camarines Sur; 61,742 boxes to Albay; 41,553 boxes to Camarines Norte; 17,536 boxes to Sorsogon; and 11,881 boxes to Catanduanes.
In addition, 31 boxes of food packs were provided to stranded passengers in Cataingan, Masbate.
Quintilla also reported that, as of the latest update, the DSWD has 331,354 boxes of family food packs available at the National Resource Operations Center in Pasay City, along with 207,048 boxes prepositioned at the Visayas Disaster Resource Center in Mandaue City, Cebu.
About 1,329,331 boxes are also ready for deployment from field offices under the agency’s interoperability scheme for disaster response.
On Monday morning, two vessels from the Philippine Coast Guard departed from the Port of Cebu, carrying 14,000 boxes of family food packs to Bicol Region.
“We are expecting that more assistance will be provided to affected residents within the week. Our DRMG is also preparing for the early recovery phase to help all disaster-affected citizens in restoring their damaged homes,” Quintilla said.