The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) is preparing the agency’s various relief resources for distribution to localities along the path of the latest weather system to affect the country.
“Tuloy-tuloy pa rin naman po ang kahandaan ng ating ahensiya. Kayat huwag pong mag-alala ang ating mga kababayan dahil sapat po at may mga naka-preposition po tayong mga family food packs (FFPs) sa lahat po ng ating mga warehouses sa buong bansa (The agency maintains its disaster preparedness. The public should not worry because our family food packs are sufficient and prepositioned in all our warehouses across the country),” DRMG head Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said in a statement on Tuesday.
Dumlao said the DSWD maintains at least three million FFPs in all warehouses that they can immediately distribute, in line with the directives of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. that nobody should go hungry in times of calamities.
The DSWD Field Offices in the National Capital Region (NCR), Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol Region, and Eastern Visayas, which are the potential areas to be affected based on forecast, are on high alert and are in constant touch with local government units (LGUs) for any request for resource augmentation, Dumlao said.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration has warned of widespread rains, flooding, and landslides.
A of 3 p.m., the low-pressure area was located near the coastal waters of Siruma, Camarines Sur. It remains less likely to develop into a tropical depression, but heavy rains is expected over most parts of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao in the next 48 hours.
Aside from FFPs and non-food items, the agency’s other resources and logistics such as the mobile kitchens and mobile command centers are also ready to be deployed to affected areas, particularly in evacuation sites.
Dumlao urged the public to be vigilant and to heed all orders from their local authorities for their safety. (PNA)