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MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has been non-stop in producing family food packs (FFPs) to replenish those being distributed in the ongoing disaster operations for Severe Tropical Storm Kristine and Super Typhoon Leon and in anticipation of the impact of Severe Tropical Storm Marce.
“Day and night, our DSWD personnel, joined by our volunteers, are tirelessly producing family food packs to ensure that we will not run out of supplies amid our continuous relief operations for families that are still reeling from the widespread impact of the previous storms,” DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao said in a news release.
Earlier, National Resource and Logistics Management Bureau (NRLMB) chief administrative officer Irish Flor Yaranon said the DSWD targets to produce 20,000 boxes of FFPs per day.
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The DSWD has been continuously strengthening the agency’s repacking efforts in response to the report of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) that Marce may reach super typhoon category as it approaches northeastern Luzon.
For the ongoing Kristine relief operations and for the possible impact of Marce, 18,700 FFPs from the Visayas Disaster Resource Center (VDRC) in Mandaue City, Cebu were loaded into trucks on Monday evening bound for the Bicol Region.
The agency is also continuously utilizing the logistic assistance of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in delivering relief aid through sea travel, Dumlao said.
“We also loaded 11,000 boxes of FFPs to PCG’s BRP Teresa Magbanua at Pier 5 in Cebu City yesterday [Nov. 4], which is also bound for the Bicol Region,” said Dumlao, assistant secretary for Disaster Response Management Group.
She said beneficiaries of the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) are actively helping out with the production of relief supplies at the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City.
“At this point, with the help and assistance that we are continuously getting, relief supplies will reach our affected kababayan (countrymen) faster. Kaya naman (So) whether it’s our colleagues from the national government or volunteers from the private sector, we hope to sustain their help as we deal with the combined impacts of Kristine and Leon and brace for Marce,” she said.