A senior official of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Thursday (July 25) that the agency has a stockpile of family food packs (FFPs) and other relief items which have been prepositioned in the different regions and augmentation supply as well for local government units (LGUs) severely affected by Typhoon Carina compounded by the Southwest Monsoon or ‘Habagat’.

DSWD Asst. Secretary for Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) Irene Dumlao said LGUs, which are considered as last mile warehouses, used their prepositioned relief goods at the height of the floodings due to the heavy rains brought by Typhoon Carina.

Asst. Secretary Dumlao, who is also DSWD spokesperson, said the agency, through its field offices, has coordinated with the concerned LGUs to ensure that augmentation FFPs can be transported to their areas when the need arises.

“Ang ginawa nating strategy with the LGUs ay inalam natin kung mayroon ba silang mga sasakyan, kung mayroon silang rubber boats, and other mechanisms para mandala yung mga FFPs that they requested,” the DRMG Asst. Secretary said during a press conference at the DSWD Central Office’s New Press Center (NPC) in Quezon City.

The DSWD spokesperson said the Department will also assist affected families after the disaster or during the recovery phase.

“From the Rapid Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (RDANA), we could determine kung ano pa yung mga maaari natin i-infuse na mga karagdagang interventions because after the response phase, tutungo tayo sa recovery phase na kung saan ay ia-assess natin itong mga naapektuhan ng disaster para maka–recover, masuportahan yung pag-improve ng kanilang well-being after na sila ay maapektuhan ng isang disaster,” Asst. Secretary Dumlao explained.

According to the DRMG assistant secretary, interventions for the recovery phase may come in the form of financial assistance such as the emergency cash transfer (ECT), Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS), and cash-for-work, based on the result of the RDANA and assessment of the DSWD social workers.

In the same press conference, Special Assistant to the Secretary (SAS) for Disaster Response and Management and Concurrent Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the National Resource and Logistics Management Bureau (NRLMB) Leo Quintilla reiterated that the boxes of FFPs and other relief items have been prepositioned to the different warehouses in the regions even before Typhoon Carina entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).

“Tuloy-tuloy po ang trabaho ng DSWD—response, stockpiling, response— by as long as we have those goods sa ating mga geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs),” SAS Quintilla pointed out.

Based on the July 25, 6 AM report of the DSWD-Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC), the DSWD has provided more than Php7.3 million humanitarian assistance to the affected families and individuals. #