“Ang maganda rito sa bagong makinarya [ng DSWD] na ginagamit natin, mas mapapabilis, mas mapapaganda ang ating pag-pack ng mga relief goods para ibibigay natin sa ating mga evacuees, para sa mga biktima [ng kalamidad].”
This was the main message of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. during his visit on Friday (July 18) to the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City where he inspected the new mechanized production system of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
President Marcos Jr. was accompanied by DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian and presidential son William Vincent “Vinny” Marcos during the inspection of the new packing system of the agency’s main disaster response hub, which includes a three rice vacuum seal application and bar-coding for efficient monitoring of family food packs (FFPs).
“Utos ng Pangulong Marcos Jr., na tiyakin ang kaligtasan at kapanatagan ng kalooban ng mga Pilipinong naapektuhan ng mga kalamidad. Sumunod ang DSWD at pinaigting ang production at pag imbak ng mga family food packs upang agarang matugunan ang pangangailangan ng mga maapektuhan ng kalamidad,” Secretary Gatchalian told reporters in an ambush interview while waiting for the President to arrive at the NROC.
The DSWD has been continuously improving its disaster response capabilities as part of the Buong Bansa Handa (BBH) Program which is based on the directive of President Marcos Jr. to ensure a fail-safe mechanism in the country’s supply chains during times of calamities.
The BBH employs two parallel supply chain mechanisms for disaster preparedness and response. The first one features a national and local government-driven supply chain, while the second supply chain forges partnerships with established large and small groceries, supermarkets, manufacturers, and distributors to leverage on their technical expertise and resources to create a private sector-driven supply chain.
“Sa katunayan, nung nagsimula ang ating Pangulo, ang national stockpile nasa below 1 million family food packs nationwide. Ngayon, napaakyat na natin sa 3 million family food packs sa iba’t ibang mga warehouses ng gobyerno sa buong bansa. So, anuman ang mangyari, kahit san man, ay handa tayong rumesponde sa mabilis at agarang pamamaraan,” Secretary Gatchalian pointed out.
Ahead of Tropical Storm ‘Crising’, the DSWD already prepositioned 3 million FFPs across 934 storage hubs nationwide complemented by the continuous production of new relief supplies at the agency’s main warehouses, the NROC and the Visayas Disaster Resource Center (VDRC) in Mandaue City in Cebu province.
The new mechanized packing system in NROC, combined with the new system in VDRC, is capable of producing 52,000 boxes of FFPs a day.
Secretary Gatchalian also directed all of the DSWD’s Field Offices (FOs) nationwide to
make sure that disaster response personnel will be immediately deployed and relief goods will be swiftly distributed to areas in need of aid any time of the day.
The DSWD has Php2.9 billion-worth of standby funds and stockpile, comprising more than 3 million FFPs and with at least 28,107 ready-to-eat food (RTEF) boxes and 334,791 non-food items (NFIs).
On July 11, the DSWD signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) for the establishment of a Regional Disaster Response Command Center (RDRCC) and warehouse facility at the Clark Civil Aviation Complex (CCAC) and the Industrial Estate 5 (IE5).
Once set up, the RDRCC in Clark will be the newest addition to the agency’s main disaster response hubs, which include the NROC and the VDRC in Mandaue City in Cebu province.
Also present during President Marcos Jr’s inspection were Undersecretary Diana Rose Cajipe of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG); Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DRMG; Asst. Secretary for Regional Operations Paul Ledesma; Asst. Secretary for Community Engagement Ulysses Hermogenes Aguilar; Asst. Secretary for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Chief Information Officer (CIO) Johannes Paulus Acuna; Special Assistant to the Secretary (SAS) for DRMG Leo Quintilla who is also concurrent officer-in-charge (OIC) of the National Resource and Logistics Management Bureau (NRLMB); and Director Maria Isabel Lanada of the Disaster Response Management Bureau (DRMB). (AKDL)