The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 1 (Ilocos Region) continues to enhance its Relief Prepositioning Agreement (RPA) with local government units (LGUs) to speed up assistance during emergencies, the agency said Friday.
Regional information officer Kristine Sheila Tabin Amoroso confirmed that field staff have begun prepositioning non-food items in Currimao, Ilocos Norte – one of the latest RPA areas after an agreement was signed this month.
As of this posting, at least 160 non-food items have been dispatched to Currimao, including sleeping kits, kitchen kits, hygiene kits, and laminated tarpaulins. Family food packs are expected to follow, according to a DSWD field staff assigned in Ilocos Norte.
“Hindi lamang ang Bayan ng Currimao ang makikinabang sa mga nakaimbak na relief items kundi maging ang mga karatig-bayan nito upang mas mapabilis ang paghahatid ng tulong sa oras ng pangangailangan (Not only the town of Currimao benefits from the stored relief items but also nearby towns to ensure faster disaster response),” DSWD-1 said in a statement.
The RPA is being reinforced and intensified across the region to ensure help arrives quickly when most needed, aligning with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to carry out preparations and emergency actions to protect communities.
Ilocos Region has at least 20 active DSWD warehouses and prepositioning areas: one regional warehouse in San Fernando City, La Union; two satellite warehouses in Bauang, La Union and Laoag City, Ilocos Norte; and 17 prepositioning areas with RPAs across the region – Currimao, Burgos, Dingras, Batac City, Adams, Pagudpud, and Badoc in Ilocos Norte; Vigan City, Tagudin, San Emilio, and Narvacan in Ilocos Sur; and Anda, Infanta, Rosales, Alaminos City, Sta. Barbara, and Aguilar in Pangasinan.
These warehouses cater not only to LGUs that have signed the RPA but also extend augmentation to nearby cities and municipalities that may request relief items, ensuring faster disaster response as goods can be quickly mobilized from nearby locations. (PNA)
