Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian (File photo)
MANILA – Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Wednesday expressed gratitude for the continuous support of the United Nations' World Food Programme (UN-WFP) in capacitating the DSWD to efficiently respond to occurrences of disasters.
In a simple ceremony at the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City on Tuesday, UN-WFD representative and Country Director Brenda Barton personally turned over the additional equipment to the DSWD.
“Thank you, WFP, for the additional donations that you have given the NROC family. We all know that efficiency is always key whether in the workplace or in personal life. We have to get goods as fast as we can from point A to the hands that need them the most; so these moving and vacuum equipment will come in very, very handy,” Gatchalian said.
Gatchalian said the DSWD is planning to build another repacking center and warehouse facility in Mindanao to improve its capacity to stockpile food packs and other disaster response related resources.
He said more works need to be done to ensure that DSWD will adequately and appropriately respond during disaster occurrences.
He emphasized the importance of “efficiency, prepositioning; making sure that when disaster strikes, DSWD and its partner, WFP, are on the ground when it happens, as it happens, and the last one to leave after it happens.”
The DSWD and WFP signed the deed of donation for the equipment which include five units of a hand pallet jack, three units of the vacuum machine and one unit of push pull forklift for the use of NROC.
In addition, another five units of a hand pallet jack, two units of a counterbalance forklift, and one unit of a reach truck were also donated to the Visayas Disaster Resource Center (VDRC).
WFP Country Director Barton said she is always proud to showcase the amazing service, see the warehouse facility and appreciate the work that the Department does.
“We consider NROC and the VDRC as the gifts that keep on giving because these are investments from many years ago that we collectively made after Typhoon Yolanda, when the UK and Australian governments supported your request to automate and make your system efficient,” Barton said.
She added that the WFP is grateful for the opportunities to help make the Department’s disaster operations better, as the DSWD will undoubtedly be busy when typhoons occur and that the donated equipment will surely help save time and ensure efficiency.
Also present during the activity were WFP Deputy Country Director Dipayan Bhattacharyya; WFP Head of Supply Chain Kevin Howley; WFP Logistics Associate Carlo Buning; WFP Program Policy Officer Alice Follosco; Partnership and Reports Associate Katrinamae Lerios; Communications Assistant Christian Reyes; DSWD Undersecretary Marco Bautista; Assistant Secretary Diana Rose Cajipe; and, National Resource and Logistics Management Bureau Director Corazon L. Macaraeg. (PNA)
