The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) continues to preposition relief supplies and rice packs at the provincial, municipal and city levels to ensure the faster delivery of aid to families that will be affected by Typhoon Chedeng.

“We have enough stockpile of relief goods to augment the resources of local government units (LGU) along the typhoon path as well as standby funds to purchase emergency relief supplies,” DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman assured.

As part of government preparations, DSWD has prepositioned 300,790 family food packs worth P105.73 million in all the Field Offices along the typhoon path, including some 98,147 packs at the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City. It has also earmarked a standby funds amounting to P19.72 million.

Likewise, a stockpile of food and non-food items worth P170.46 million is available for distribution to affected LGUs.

At least nine regions, namely: I, II, III, IVA, IVB, V, VIII, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and the National Capital Region (NCR) will be hit by  ‘Chedeng’, which is forecasted to be making a landfall in the eastern coast of Samar, Quezon or in Isabela by late Saturday (April 4) to early Sunday (April 5).

“To ensure immediate relief distribution to affected LGUs, data generation, as well as management of evacuation centers, the DSWD field offices along the path of the typhoon have activated their Quick Response and Disaster Teams which will operate 24/7,” Sec. Soliman said.

With DSWD as head of the Camp Management Cluster under the National Disaster Risk Reduction Council (NDRRMC), the Department continues to coordinate with the LGUs in the conduct of pre-emptive evacuation and setting up of evacuation centers.

The DSWD has also activated a pool of volunteers for cash/food-for-work for repacking and prepositioning of family food packs.  ###