Field Offices (FOs) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) are now replenishing and prepositioning relief supplies in preparation for the landfall of Typhoon Lawin in the Luzon area.

DSWD Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo assured the public that the Department is keeping close tabs on the status of relief goods prepositioned for the local government units ( LGUs)  in the areas that will be affected by Typhoon Lawin.

Sec. Taguiwalo said that in Region I,  the FO has already prepositioned goods in 12 satellite warehouses on strategic locations where nearby local government units (LGUs) can easily access in case  they need augmentation assistance.

“The prepositioned items are in the form of food and non-food-items consisting of ready-to-eat rice tuna, bottled mineral water, mats, blankets, malongs, mosquito nets, water jugs, and used clothing. These were all distributed in the Provinces of La Union, Pangasinan,  Ilocos Sur, and Ilocos Norte.  The FO also has a standby fund of  P2,200,000 that can be used for emergency purchase of relief supplies,” she said.

In the meantime, in Region II,  the FO has  10,370 family food packs stored in its warehouse on top of the 12,900 packs  and 3,696 pieces of ready-to-eat food (RTEF) that have been prepositioned in the municipalities of Cagayan & Isabela. The replenishment of prepositioned goods for the municipalities of Divilacan and Maconacon in the province of Isabela will  be delivered this morning at the Sta. Ana port. The Field Office has an available standby funds of P4,000,000.

Overall, the Central Office, FOs,  and the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) have a total stockpile and standby funds amounting to ₱1,285,679,783.54 .

Disaster ops for ‘Karen’

Meanwhile,  Sec. Taguiwalo said that FOs in ‘Karen’-affected areas continue to assist LGUs in responding to the needs of displaced families.

She said that to date,  a total of ₱7,961,096  worth of relief assistance has been provided to the affected families. Of the said amount, the Department extended ₱4,163,469 while concerned LGUs shared  ₱3,797,627.

“We are also relieved to report that the total number of evacuation centers is now down to 251  from  600 when the typhoon was at its peak. All evacuation centers in Region II have closed as well as a number in Region V.  Some 11,077 families or 54,296 persons remain in evacuation centers set-up by LGUs in Regions I, III, CALABARZON, and in other parts of Region V,  as of 2AM, October 18,” she said.

She  also confirmed that aside from continuous coordination with LGUs for augmentation needs, the production of family food packs is now on-going in other regions in time for ‘Lawin’.

She reiterated her call to the public to be always on alert and to work together with their local authorities for their own safety and for prompt delivery of their needed relief supplies. #