More than a week after Super Typhoon Carina and Habagat rains hit the country, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has released over 1.2 million boxes of Family Food Packs (FFPs) to affected families — 1,263,469 boxes, to be exact.
According to DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, this figure is one of the largest releases by the agency. The latest release and distribution of FFPs is also one of the biggest and fastest disaster relief operations conducted by the DSWD.
Image Credit: DSWD Field Office 1 / Facebook
Over 1.2M Food Packs Given to Typhoon Carina Victims
DSWD Assistant Secretary for Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) Irene Dumlao affirmed Gatchalian’s statement, describing the fast delivery of 1 million plus boxes of FFPs as a milestone for DSWD.
“This is a result of the DSWD’s current capacity and capability that have improved over time in order to meet the challenges of climate change,” Asst. Sec. Dumlao said, as cited in a DSWD press release.
As of 3:30 pm on August 5, 2024, consolidated data shows the total number of FFPs dispatched to different regions: 544,436 boxes to Central Luzon; 250,814 boxes to the National Capital Region (NCR); 198,897 boxes to Bicol Region; 140,996 boxes to CALABARZON; 77,002 boxes to MIMAROPA; 47,198 boxes to Ilocos Region; and 4,126 boxes to the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
Asst. Sec. Dumlao shared that these seven regions bore “the brunt” of Super Typhoon Carina and Habagat. As for the FPPs, she said that these were either “prepositioned” in DSWD’s regional warehouses, released to the local government units (LGUs), or are currently being delivered or picked up by LGUs.
“We have learned our lessons from the previous disasters,” she explained. “This is why we continue to preposition relief supplies even before a disaster hits an area, which is also in line with the marching order of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to Secretary Gatchalian, to ensure that we can readily release these to affected families when needed.”
Other than prepositioning, DSWD regional offices also conducted early disaster risk assessment, in order to project the needs of families and communities. “With the assessment, we had an idea on the number of FFPs to be delivered,” Asst. Sec. Dumlao stated.
Moreover, the DSWD official shared that FFPs are continuously being produced in all regional offices to replenish supplies, thus ensuring that there will be enough assistance at any given time.
“At the height of Carina and Habagat, the Department called for volunteers to help repack relief supplies at the National Resource Operations Center (NROC),” Asst. Sec. Dumlao said. “They were instrumental in the continuous production of food packs.”
Through the DSWD’s cash-for-work program, disaster-affected individuals were also involved in repacking goods and creation of FFPs at the NROC.
Notably, Asst. Sec. Dumalo attributed the agency’s efficient response to the Buong Bansa Handa (BBH) strategy. “In line with the instruction of President Marcos to ensure that the country is always ready in times of disasters, the DSWD, under the leadership of Secretary Gatchalian, introduced this pioneering strategy called the Buong Bansa Handa (BBH) program,” she said.
“The DSWD was able to produce and deliver the more than one million FFPs because of the BBH, which ensured the availability of supplies at any given time,” she explained.
Image Credit: DSWD Field Office 1 / Facebook
Final Thoughts
In a typhoon-prone country like the Philippines, the occurrence of natural calamities is not a question of “if” but “when.” And so, the government should always be ready in terms of risk assessment, disaster response, and relief operations.
Providing aid to disaster-affected families would not have been possible without help from local as well as international partners. Thankfully, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is among those who sent boxes of relief goods, for distribution to affected families.