MANILA, Philippines--The government dispatched trucks loaded with food packs to provinces across Luzon as it kicked off its long-delayed ?relief caravan.?

The caravan fanned out to parts of northern, central, southern Luzon and Bicol region as part of the government's pre-positioning of relief goods to localities expected to be hit by Typhoon Santi (international codename:Mirinae).

President Macapagal-Arroyo and some Cabinet officials saw off the trucks laden with food and other provisions on Diosdado Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City at around 6 a.m. Thursday.

?The main objective is to pre-position these relief goods in preparation for Typhoon ?Santi?,'' deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said in a briefing.

The drop-off points are Pangasinan for Region 1; Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Tarlac for Region 3; Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon for Region 4-A; and Camarines Norte and Sur, Sorsogon, Albay and Catanduanes for Region 5.

The caravan's kick-off was originally set for Oct. 19, but this was put off in view of the entry of Typhoon Ramil (international codename: Lupit)'

After learning its lesson from the cyclones ?Ondoy'' and ?Pepeng'' (international codenames: Ketsana and Parma), the government decided to pre-position the relief goods to ensure quicker relief to potential calamity victims.

Ondoy dumped heavy rains in Metro Manila on Sept. 26, inundating vast areas of the metropolis. After a week, Pepeng battered northern Luzon, triggering heavy flooding and landslides.

?We witnessed in the two typhoons ?Ondoy? and ?Pepeng? that there were areas in some remote barangays that were difficult to reach because these were isolated. So this is what we want to avoid, that's why we are pre-positioning these goods,'' Fajardo said.

The supplies consisted of food packs, potable water, mats, blankets and clothing.