With the construction of its new warehouse at the National Resource Operations Center (NROC)  in Pasay City,  the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) can store an additional  40,000 family food packs at any given time. The new warehouse was  inaugurated on Tuesday.

The construction of the warehouse and other refurbishments was made possible through the partnership of DSWD and the Australian  Government under Agreement No. 70013: Support Program for Disaster Response.

DSWD Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo and Australian Ambassador  to the Philippines Amanda Gorely led the unveiling of the marker and the ceremonial cutting of the ribbon.

Sec. Taguiwalo expressed the Department’s gratitude to the Australian Government for the assistance to improve the disaster management system of the Philippines.

The Secretary added that the Department is continuously improving its systems and operations to better serve the families affected by various calamities.   She said that the partnership is much appreciated and needed as the Philippines is one of the disaster prone countries.

“From the time we joined DSWD, we encouraged all workers to always ensure that the needs of victims of disasters are promptly responded to. We continue to emphasize that relief assistance must not be politicized and it should be a collaborative effort regardless of political affiliations,” Sec. Taguiwalo stated.

During the inauguration , the Secretary and the Ambassador also had the chance to examine the various non-food relief items which were on display.  #