“One of the strongest suits of the Marcos administration is yung mabilis, at timely and efficient na disaster response. So, ngayon mas mapapabilis pa – mas efficient, mabilis, at mas mapagkalinga.”
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian gave this assurance to the public during the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) that will set up a Regional Disaster Response Command Center (RDRCC) and warehouse facility at the Clark Civil Aviation Complex (CCAC) and the Industrial Estate 5 (IE5).
Secretary Gatchalian, Regional Director Venus Rebuldela of DSWD Field Office 3- Central Luzon, and President and CIAC Chief Executive Officer Joseph Alcazar signed the MOA at the Clark Field in Pampanga on Friday (July 11).
In his message, Secretary Gatchalian said the establishment of the RDRCC and warehouse is in line with the DSWD’s Buong Bansa Handa (BBH) Program, which aims to make the agency omnipresent in its disaster response operations.
The BBH Program is in line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to double up in the supply chains in order to facilitate the delivery of basic food and non-food requirements to disaster victims.
The BBH’s first supply chain will feature an expanded network of warehouse facilities of local government units (LGUs) provincial governments, other national government agencies, while the other one will be private-sector driven.
“We want to make sure that in the eventuality of anything, mayroon tayong back up na Regional Command Center, but more importantly a big hub where we can store our prepositioned goods in case of a disaster. This all ties to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr’s vision and mandate of making sure na ang buong bansa ay handa pag nagkaroon ng sakuna,” Secretary Gatchalian pointed out.
The new disaster facilities are expected to strengthen the logistics capability of the DSWD due to their proximity to the airport and main highways in Central Luzon thus, making it easier to preposition and transport food and non-food items in nearby regions.
The RDRCC in Clark is the newest addition to the agency’s main disaster response hubs, which include the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City and the Visayas Disaster Resource Center (VDRC) in Mandaue City, Cebu.
The DSWD is also planning to set up another resource center in Butuan City in Caraga Region to preposition goods for localities in Southern Philippines and typhoon-prone areas in the Eastern Seaboard of Mindanao and the Visayas.
Present to witness the signing of the MOA were Pampanga Governor Lilia Pineda; CIAC Directors Rommel Ma. Santiago and Anthony Emmanuel Tulabut; and President and Chief Executive Officer (PCEO) Joshua Bingcang of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA).
Undersecretary Diana Rose Cajipe and Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) also witnessed the agreement signing. (AKDL)