The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is prepared for a possible eruption of Mayon Volcano, with ample family food packs (FFPs) prepositioned across warehouses in the Bicol Region, Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian said Friday.
“Rest assured that the DSWD, sabi ko nga sa mga local government units, maraming family food packs na nakaimbak sa iba’t ibang mga bodega natin sa Albay,” Gatchalian said during a televised interview following his visit to Albay province.
Even before Mayon was raised to Alert Level 3, 150,000 boxes of FFPs and other food and non-food items (FNFIs) had been prepositioned in Albay under President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s orders.
“Ang instruction sa amin ng ating Pangulo is ang preparation hindi yan ginagawa kapag may sakuna na, 365 days a year wala kaming ginawa kundi mag-imbak nang mag-imbak. Umaabot ang ating national stockpile to almost four million family food boxes spread across 1,000 warehouses nationwide. So, kung may nangyari na ganito, ready tayo tumulong kaagad. Ora mismo nandoon na,” he added.
An additional 100,000 FFPs were ordered for immediate release on Wednesday, and the DSWD will implement a cash-for-work (CFW) program for families within the six-kilometer permanent danger zone whose livelihoods are disrupted.
According to the latest DROMIC report, the DSWD has already provided over ₱6 million worth of humanitarian assistance, including 2,880,960 ready-to-eat food boxes and 1,949 non-food items.