The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) intensified stockpiling of relief goods under its Buong Bansa Handa (BBH) program has been instrumental in ensuring the government’s swift and sustained disaster response, even if multiple calamities struck various parts of the country successively, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said on Wednesday (October 15).

“Well, actually that’s part — I’d rather call it, yan, parte ng isang malaking programa namin called Buong Bansa Handa. Yung Buong Bansa Handa — alam niyo, ang Pangulo natin very particular with making sure na resilient tayo at prepared,” Secretary Gatchalian said in an interview Wednesday with Net 25’s ‘Ano Sa Palagay N’yo (ASPN).’

Secretary Gatchalian said the DSWD launched the BBH in 2023, which was aligned with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to ensure that all government assets are available to meet the urgent needs of disaster-hit families, wherever they may be in the country.

Under the BBH, the DSWD prepositions its food and non-food items (FNFIs) in close to 1,000 designated warehouses nationwide ahead of any disaster or emergency.

To speed up production of these goods, the DSWD also invested in mechanized repacking systems among its two major production hubs —- the Luzon Disaster Resource Center (LDRC) in Pasay City and the Visayas Disaster Resource Center (VDRC) in Mandaue City, Cebu.

“Ang ginagawa naman natin sa local government units (LGUs) is One: We tell them to allow us to use their facilities for prepositioning. And Two, kayo naman yung mag-distribute on the ground. So ano ‘to? It’s part of being ready — not just by the national government, but all the way to the local government,” Secretary Gatchalian told the program anchors of Net 25.

With these systems in place, the DSWD has swiftly distributed the much-needed food packs to the families affected by the 6.9 quake in Northern Cebu.

“Imagine niyo sa Cebu — 500,000 food packs in probably less than 2 weeks kasi naka-preposition na at tuloy-tuloy ang stockpiling,” Secretary Gatchalian pointed out.

Swift operations have also defined DSWD’s response in the aftermath of the twin quakes that struck from the offshore of Davao Oriental.

The DSWD has, so far, distributed 57,640 boxes of FFPs, 5,218 ready-to-eat-food (RTEF) boxes, 3,679 non-food items (NFIs) to Davaoeños.

“Sa Davao, nandoon pa lang tayo sa stage ng pagpapakain — nasa family food packs pa rin tayo, which is around 50,000 na family food packs na ilalabas natin. Aakyat ‘yan kasi marami pa rin tayong pamilyang displaced na nakatira sa mga tent, na tayo rin nag-set up sa tulong ng DHSUD (Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development),” Secretary Gatchalian said.

Simultaneously, the DSWD is rolling out the Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) to families affected by the recent tropical storms to help them recover and rebuild.

“Itong Emergency Cash Transfer natin para sa mga partially damaged, makakatanggap sila ng kulang-kulang limang libong piso each family — para kumpunihin yung kanilang bahay. At pag talagang totally damaged, yung nasira talaga, wala nang babalikan — sampung libong piso naman ‘yon,” Secretary Gatchalian told program anchors.

The DSWD Field Office (FO) 2 – Cagayan Valley officially kicked off the distribution of ECT to families affected by Typhoon Nando last week. Ongoing distributions for Masbateños are being held this week led by the DSWD FO 5 – Bicol Region.

Secretary Gatchalian emphasized that the DSWD is ready to sustain ongoing relief operations and recovery efforts under the ECT.

“Kaya ko sabihin sa inyo na may sapat na pondo ang pamahalaan para tugunan ang pangangailangan na inihuhudyat nitong mga disaster,” the DSWD chief said.

The DSWD currently maintains Php477 million in standby funds and 2 million boxes of FFPs ready to be used for disaster operations at any given time. (LSJ)