An agency official of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) emphasized on Saturday (July 26) that the agency has stringent proactive measures in place for its disaster preparedness and response operations.
“The DSWD doesn’t just send aid when there is a disaster. DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian has really ensured that the proactive approach is taken because he was also a former mayor. He knows the feeling of being a mayor waiting for help when your disaster risk reduction and management funds are not enough,” Director Maria Isabel Lanada of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Bureau (DRMB) told DZMM ’s Serbisyong DSWD for Every Juan on Saturday.
According to the DRMB chief, the agency has 938 warehouses across the country which maintains 3 million to 3.2 million stockpiles at any given time.
“That is what we are filling, the warehouses all over the country, and these family food packs of ours we are ensuring are oriented to our local government units (LGUs), and we have our relief prepositioning agreements (RPA),” Dir. Lanada explained.
To ensure that the prepositioned goods will not be used for political activities, Dir. Lanada said the RPAs with concerned LGUs have clauses that prevent them from taking out or distributing stockpiles without the expressed approval of the DSWD.
Dir. Lanada also urged citizens to report cases of tampering or repacking of FFPs to the DSWD.
“If you notice anyone repackaging, selling or paying for their political activities, report it to us at the DSWD and there will be legal action under Republic Act 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act,” the DRMB chief warned.
The prohibited acts, under RA 10121, include diverting or misdelivering of relief goods, equipment or other aid commodities to persons other than the rightful recipient or consignee; accepting, possessing, using or disposing relief goods, equipment or other aid commodities not intended for nor consigned to him/her.
The Serbisyong DSWD for every Juan is a DSWD-DZMM partnership program aired every Saturday from 11am to 12nn. It is co-anchored by Jet Guevarra of the Public Relations Service (PRS) under the DSWD’s Strategic Communications. (AKDL)