The Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Wednesday assured the public of its readiness to deliver aid to localities to be affected by the latest weather disturbance, Tropical Depression (TD) Salome.

According to Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD’s DRMG, the department is prepared with close to two million boxes of family food packs (FFPs) prepositioned in its warehouses nationwide, ready to be tapped for timely relief operations.

“The DSWD, especially through the Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG), always sees to it that we are updated on the latest weather disturbance, its track, and areas that are at risk as it traverses our country. Ito ay kahit na marami tayong tinututukan na disaster-hit areas dahil sa sunod-sunod na bagyo at lindol (This is despite the fact that we are dealing with the disaster-hit areas caused by successive typhoons and earthquakes),” Dumlao, also the DSWD’s spokesperson, said.

The stockpiles are stored inside around 1,000 warehouses prepositioned nationwide, and possible affected families can rest assured that wherever Salome brings heavy rain, the agency can quickly deliver relief items, the spokesperson pointed out.

The DSWD also maintains non-food items worth PHP863 million, such as blankets, family kits, hygiene kits, kitchen kits and modular tents that can be provided to families taking temporary shelter in evacuation centers, Dumlao said.

She added that tight coordination between the DSWD and concerned local government units (LGUs) is on top of the department’s priority, in line with the directives of Secretary Rex Gatchalian.

“Laging nasa unahan ng listahan natin na walang Pilipinong magugutom sa gitna ng sakuna at nakakapagbigay tayo ng agarang kapanatagan na palaging bilin ng ating Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. Magkatuwang po ang DSWD dyan pati na rin ang LGUs (Always on top of our priority list is that no Filipino will get hungry amid disasters and we are able to immediately give peace of mind, as ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The DSWD and LGUs partnered in doing that), as the disaster frontliners in their areas of jurisdiction,” Dumlao said.

The DSWD, as a member-agency of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), will be coordinating with other agencies for any crucial update on the impact of TD Salome, particularly with the Department of Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. (PNA)