Soliman answers repacking, labelling issue

Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman: We just take out bottles. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) does not repack, much less relabel, already packed international donations received by the agency.

Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman made the clarification on Tuesday to quell stories in social media that the staff at the DSWD Satellite Repacking Center at Mactan Airbase in Cebu was taking the prepacked relief items donated by Indonesia and placing them in bags labeled “DSWD.”

“We just take out the bottled condiments in the packs as they make the goods more difficult to transport and handle,” Soliman said. “This also prevents the other items in the bags from contamination in case the bottles break.”

The bottled items and other breakables are placed in separate containers and marked “fragile,” she said.

Soliman said it was the DSWD’s responsibility to check the relief goods received by the agency.

“We have to ensure that all relief goods, particularly the food items, are fit for human consumption and in good condition—that’s why we inspect the contents of the bags, especially their expiration dates,” she said.