Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian will lead guests, including Senator Joel Villanueva and United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director Regis Chapman, at the ceremonial launch of disaster response vehicles on February 7 (Friday) at the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City.

The emergency response vehicles include mobile kitchens, mobile water treatment, water tanker trucks, forklifts, and a reach truck.

“These mobile kitchens, water tanks and other equipment which we are launching on February 7 are part of the new initiatives of the DSWD that provides appropriate and quality services to families,” Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) said.

The mobile kitchens are designed to provide hot meals to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and families during emergencies as part of the Department’s response.

The mobile kitchen and food truck would be beneficial during the long-term displacement of IDPs in the evacuation centers.

The mobile water treatment and water tanker trucks are designed to transport large quantities of water to evacuation centers or in areas affected by water shortages.

The forklifts and reach trucks will greatly help in speeding up the process of repacking and prepositioning of family food packs (FFPs).

Asst. Secretary Dumlao, who is also the DSWD spokesperson, said the Department continues to innovate for more efficient, comprehensive and sustained disaster response interventions in order to better serve disaster affected families and individuals. (GDVF)