AID FOR VICTIMS. A truckload of family food packs for "Agaton" victims in Baybay City outside the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) warehouse in Palo, Leyte on Tuesday (April 12, 2022). The DSWD Eastern Visayas has released 5,113 family food packs as an initial assistance to victims of floodings and landslides. (Photo courtesy of DSWD Region 8)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Eastern Visayas has already released 5,113 family food packs (FFPs) as an initial assistance to victims of Tropical Depression Agaton.
DSWD regional information officer Joshua Kempis said on Wednesday that as of Tuesday night, FFPs were delivered in Baybay City, Abuyog, Leyte, and Guiuan, Eastern Samar.
“We delivered the food packs to local government units and they will take charge of the distribution. We are also starting today the production of FFPs for victims of Agaton,” Kempis said in a phone interview Wednesday.
The FFPs initially released by DSWD is part of the 22,736 food packs prepositioned in different warehouses in the region.
Each food pack for one family, costing PHP500, contains six kilograms of rice, four cans of corned beef, two cans of tuna flakes, two cans of sardines, five sachets of coffee, and five sachets of energy drink.
Under the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010, the local governments are the first responders, and the DSWD is tasked to augment the response efforts after disasters.
Meanwhile, the DSWD regional office also activated its Quick Response Team (QRT) as an initial response to the impacts of "Agaton".
The team is tasked to handle data management, welfare, internally displaced persons, and logistics.
“Through QRT, we can assure the continuous delivery of services even if we are still experiencing bad weather. There’s an ongoing coordination with affected local government units to get critical information about the effects of Agaton and the needs of affected families,” Kempis said.
The QRT is composed of several DSWD staff who will render 24/7 duty at the agency’s Emergency Operations Center to monitor the progress of a disturbance.
Aside from the QRT, all DSWD staff are on alert mode and are ready to render duty as the need for augmentation and deployment arises, according to her. (PNA)
