The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is preparing for the expected onset of the La Niña phenomenon next month by ensuring that its disaster preparedness and response strategies are in place to mitigate the possible effects of the wet season, an agency official said on Thursday.

“Na-approve na rin yung ating Buong Bansa Handa project… yung ating framework agreement. Ongoing din yung procurement for that dahil nga ang gusto nating mangyari ay mabilis yung pagpapahatid ng tulong kapag dumating na yung tag-ulan,” (The Buong Bansa Handa Project has been approved… the framework agreement. The procurement process is also ongoing because what we want to happen is for the assistance to be immediately delivered when the rainy season arrives),” DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao said in a media forum in Quezon City.

Dumlao, assistant secretary for Disaster Response Management Group, noted that the Buong Bansa Handa (the whole country is ready) project would establish two parallel supply chain mechanisms for disaster preparedness and response, which would enhance the department’s capacity to meet the needs of families in various disaster-stricken areas.

The first mechanism features a national and local government-driven supply chain that will improve the production capacities and processes of the DSWD’s National Resource Operations Center in Pasay City, the Visayas Disaster Resource Center in Cebu, and warehouse and storage facilities across the 16 DSWD field offices.

For the second mechanism, the DSWD will forge partnerships with established large and small groceries, supermarkets, manufacturers, and distributors to leverage their technical expertise and resources to create a private sector-driven supply chain.

Enough relief supplies in warehouses

Dumlao said they are monitoring the relief supplies and ensuring that there are enough family food packs (FFPs) and non-food items (NFIs) prepositioned in the various warehouses across the country.

As of April 29, a total of 387,124 FFPs have been prepositioned in the 10 DSWD hubs while 602,113 boxes of food packs were sent to the 66 spokes and 545,526 FFPs in the 849 last-mile delivery facilities across the country.

“Doon sa ating mga last mile, binabantayan natin ang delivery, gayundin ang mga withdrawal ng ating FFPs and NFIs para hindi po tayo nauubusan and, of course, pag dumating ang tag-ulan ay sapat ang ating mga supply and are ready to be sent to LGUs that are affected (In our last-mile delivery facilities, we monitor the delivery, as well as the withdrawal of our FFPs and NFIs, so that we don’t run out, and of course, when the rainy season comes, our supplies are sufficient and ready to be sent to affected LGUs),” she said.

Safe evacuation centers

Dumlao pointed out that the DSWD is also monitoring the evacuation centers to ensure that evacuees would be provided with necessary interventions.

She said evacuation centers, in coordination with the local government units and the Department of Education, have been inspected to ensure the safety of the would-be evacuees.

One of the concerns of the DSWD is also to ensure that women and children affected by various disasters are safe, she said.

To date, 18,069 evacuation centers around the country can be used to temporarily shelter internally displaced individuals. (PNA)