On top of the 10,000 family food packs (FFPs) prepositioned in the province of Catanduanes prior to Super Typhoon Pepito, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) assured there are enough supplies in the Bicol Region to augment the relief resources of the provincial local government unit (PLGU) of Catanduanes.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian affirmed this in his Facebook post on Sunday (November 17), citing that the prepositioned goods are already being used by the Provincial Local Government Unit (PLGU) of Catanduanes following Pepito’s landfall in the area.

“In the badly hit province of Catanduanes, we had close to 10K family food packs before Pepito hit. These food packs are now being used by the local government units to aid their affected constituents,” Secretary Gatchalian said over his official Facebook page.

“I spoke yesterday and today to Catanduanes Governor Joseph Cua and assured him that another 20-30k family food packs are physically in the Bicol Region for the province’s use,” the DSWD chief explained.

In a similar development, Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao said the Field Office (FO) 5 – Bicol Region is actively responding to other Pepito-hit areas in the area.

“Mula sa pagbibigay suporta sa pre-emptive evacuation ng ating affected LGUs in Bicol region hanggang sa paglobo po ng numero ng mga internally displaced families sa kasagsagan ni Pepito, nandidiyaan po ang ating mga field office personnel para umalalay,” Asst. Secretary Dumlao said.

In Lagonoy, Camarines Sur, where Pepito brought strong winds that went up to Signal No. 4, the DSWD extended  372 FFPs as initial aid to affected families and individuals.

Asst. Secretary Dumlao also reported that in the afternoon of November 17, some 5,000 FFPs from the DSWD’s regional warehouse in Pawa in Legazpi, Albay were loaded into delivery trucks bound for other parts of Legazpi City, Sto. Domingo, and Bacacay

“We also dispatched 500 boxes of FFPs from the same warehouse, intended for immediate distribution to affected families in Barcelona, Sorsogon,” the DSWD official added

Also in Sorsogon, the DSWD FO-5 personnel distributed hot meals amounting to Php5,000 to stranded passengers in Matnog Port due to the suspension of sea travels in the area.

Amid these simultaneous efforts in the Bicol Region, other Field Offices along the track of the tropical cyclone are continuously facilitating prepositioning activities with the help of other national government agencies.

“In Region 1, particularly in our warehouse in Pangasinan, we have prepositioned 6,600 food and non-food items nitong Sabado ahead of Pepito’s direct hit,” the asst. secretary said.

This was made possible through the help of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine Navy (PN) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), according to the DRMG official.

“Sa pamamagitan nga po ng tulong ng ibang ahensiya, mas lalo pa nating napapalakas ang ating regional stockpiles and prepositioning activities, which for the longest time, has been our proactive approach to ensure that our help reaches those in need in the fastest time possible,” the asst. secretary added.

According to Asst. Secretary Dumlao, these efforts are in line with the directives of Secretary Gatchalian which he reinforced in an emergency meeting held with other DSWD executives earlier on Sunday .

In the said meeting, the DSWD chief also ordered the DRMG and the National Resource and Logistic Management Bureau (NRLMB) to lead necessary steps in ensuring that the daily production of FFPs will not fall under 50,000 starting next week.

Present in the  meeting were DRMG Undersecretary Diana Rose Cajipe, Asst. Secretary Dumlao and DRMG Special Assistant to the Secretary Leo Quintilla, who is also the Officer-in-charge for NRLMB.# (LSJ)

Tagalog Version

DSWD mas pinaigting ang response and relief operations sa mga lugar na apektado ng bagyong Pepito

Tiniyak ng Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) na sapat at hindi magkukulang ang relief supplies ng ahensya para sa mga pangangailangan ng apektadong pamilya at indibidwal sa rehiyon ng Bicol partikular na sa lalawigan ng Catanduanes.

Ang relief supplies ay bukod pa sa 10,000 family food packs (FFPs) na naka-preposition na sa Catanduanes bago pa man manalasa ang bagyong Pepito.

Ito ang tiniyak ni DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian sa kanyang Facebook post nitong Lunggo (November 17), kung saan sinabi nito na ang mga naka-preposition na FFPs ay naipamahagi na ng Provincial Local Government Unit (PLGU) ng Catanduanes matapos na mag- landfall ang bagyo sa nasabing lalawigan.

“In the badly hit province of Catanduanes, we had close to 10K family food packs before Pepito hit. These food packs are now being used by the local government units to aid their affected constituents,” sabi ni Secretary Gatchalian sa kanyan official Facebook page.

“I spoke yesterday and today to Catanduanes Governor Joseph Cua and assured him that another 20-30k family food packs are physically in the Bicol Region for the province’s use,” dagdag pa ng DSWD chief.

Kaugnay nito, sinabi naman ni Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) at Spokesperson Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao tuloy tuloy ang isinasagawang Response and Relief Operations ng Field Office (FO) 5 – Bicol Region sa mga apektadong pamilya.

“Mula sa pagbibigay suporta sa pre-emptive evacuation ng ating affected LGUs in Bicol region hanggang sa paglobo po ng numero ng mga internally displaced families sa kasagsagan ni Pepito, nandidiyaan po ang ating mga field office personnel para umalalay,” sabi pa ni Asst. Secretary Dumlao.

Sa Lagonoy, Camarines Sur, nakapamahagi na ang ahensya ng 372 FFPs bilang inisyal na tulong sa mga naapektuhang residente.

Sabi pa ni Asst. Secretary Dumlao mayroong 5,000 FFPs mula sa DSWD regional warehouse sa Pawa, Legazpi, Albay ang naikarga na sa delivery trucks patungong Legazpi City, Sto. Domingo, at Bacacay.

“We also dispatched 500 boxes of FFPs from the same warehouse, intended for immediate distribution to affected families in Barcelona, Sorsogon,” sabi pa ng opisyal.

Bukod dito, nakapag-abot na din ang DSWD FO-5 ng mga hot meals na nagkakahalaga ng Php5,000 sa mga stranded passengers sa Matnog Port.

“In Region 1, particularly in our warehouse in Pangasinan, we have prepositioned 6,600 food and non-food items nitong Sabado ahead of Pepito’s direct hit,” sabi pa ng asst. secretary.

Dagdag pa niya, “Sa pamamagitan nga
po ng tulong ng ibang ahensiya, mas lalo pa nating napapalakas ang ating regional stockpiles and prepositioning activities, which for the longest time, has been our proactive approach to ensure that our help reaches those in need in the fastest time possible.”

Samantala, sa ginanap na emergency meeting sa pagitan ng mga opisyal ng ahensya, nagbigay ng direktiba ang DSWD chief sa DRMG at National Resource and Logistic Management Bureau (NRLMB) na tiyakin na hindi magkukulang ang produksyon ng FFPs .

Kabilang sa mga dumalo sa meeting sina DRMG Undersecretary Diana Rose Cajipe, Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao at DRMG Special Assistant to the Secretary LeoQuintilla.# (MVC)