MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has implemented corrective measures following a Commission on Audit (COA) report that highlighted storage and inventory management issues in its regional warehouses.
The audit report cited pest infestations affecting ₱106.93 million worth of prepositioned relief goods in Northern Mindanao (Region 10), alongside storage monitoring lapses in other regions that exposed supplies to risks of damage or loss.
In response, Social Welfare Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao stated that the agency is bolstering warehouse inspections, routine spot-checks, and inventory protocols to safeguard family food packs (FFPs) and disaster response supplies.
“We acknowledge the COA findings, and we have already taken corrective measures to address these and prevent recurrence,” she said in a statement on Friday, September 25.
Dumlao noted that the department is finalizing a digital Warehouse Inventory Management System to track food and non-food items in real time.
She characterized the pest infestations as isolated incidents that occurred in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas lacking immediate access to food-grade pest control services.
Clarifying that no relief supplies were discarded due to expiration, Dumlao explained that the affected items were damaged by pests and processed through the agency’s Property Disposal and Awards Committee.
“Hindi po natin hinahayaan na ma-expire sa warehouse ang mga FFPs. Mayroon po tayong monitoring system para ma-track ang expiration dates ng bawat FFP. Ang mga naapektuhan po ay nasira dahil sa pest,” Dumlao said.
The agency operates under a “first-expiry, first-out” policy, redirecting items nearing expiration to community initiatives—such as the Food-for-Work program—at least three months before their expiration date.
“We’ve also initiated the procurement of food-grade pest control services in Region 10 (Northern Mindanao), and we’ve worked with LGUs in Regions 4A-CALABARZON and 11 (Davao Region) under our Relief Prepositioning Agreements to ensure proper storage, including the use of pallets,” she said.
The DSWD confirmed that regional field offices are working directly with local government units to guarantee compliance with national storage standards.