The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has welcomed the results of the June 2025 Ulat ng Bayan national survey by Pulse Asia Research, Inc., which reflected a growing public confidence in the national government’s quick disaster response in areas affected by calamities.
Based on the June 26-30 Pulse Asia survey, public approval for the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr’s performance in “responding to the needs of areas affected by calamities” rose from 51 percent in March to 63 percent in June for a 12-point increase over a three-month period.
“We take this as a reminder that people are watching and depending on the government in their most vulnerable moments. Hindi po ito tungkol sa numero, kundi sa tiwala ng taong bayan na dapat naming panatilihin at suklian ng mas maayos at mabilis na serbisyo,” Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG), who is also the agency spokesperson, said on Friday (July 18).
While the agency does not view the numbers as an accolade, the DSWD spokesperson sees this as a signal to continue and strengthen its disaster preparedness and response programs through a whole-of-nation approach.
“The positive shift in public perception challenges us to do even better. Patuloy po naming pagbubutihin ang aming paghahanda at pagtugon sa sakuna,” Asst. Secretary Dumlao said.
Asst. Secretary Dumlao said the agency continues to preposition millions of family food packs (FFPs) and non-food relief items across the country as the DSWD continues to improve warehousing and logistics as well as provide technical assistance to disaster responders to ensure efficient and timely delivery of support to calamity-affected areas.
“We continue to coordinate and collaborate with other national government agencies, local government units (LGUs), and other partners dahil ang utos ng ating Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ay i-apply ang whole-of-nation approach upang mas mabilis na matulungan ang mga kababayan natin na nasalanta ng anumang kalamidad,” the DRMG official said.
Pulse Asia’s Ulat ng Bayan, conducted from June 26 to 30, was based on face-to-face interviews with 1,200 respondents nationwide.
In the first half of 2025, the agency responded to various calamities such as Tropical Depressions Auring, Bising, and Crising, as well as flooding in different areas by providing FFPs, cash aid, and extending psychosocial support.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian emphasized on Thursday (July 17) that ahead of ‘Crising’, the DRMG already prepositioned 3 million boxes of FFPs across 934 storage hubs nationwide complemented by the continuous production of new relief supplies at the agency’s main warehouses, the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City and the Visayas Disaster Resource Center (VDRC) in Mandaue City in Cebu province.
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). (YADP)