FOOD PACKS. Food packs are prepositioned by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Apayao in this photo from July 14, 2023. The DSWD has already prepositioned 51,000 family food packs in the six provinces of the Cordillera Administrative Region as part of the preparation for Typhoon Egay. (PNA photo by Liza T. Agoot)
BAGUIO CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) reported on Monday that it has prepositioned 51,039 family food packs (FFPs) at warehouses throughout the region as Tropical Cyclone Wind Signals (TCWS) have been hoisted over Luzon and Visayas due to Typhoon Egay.
The latest data obtained from the DSWD regional office here showed that of that number, 32,295 family food packs worth PHP38.7 million are prepositioned in DSWD-managed warehouses as of 6 a.m.
The remaining 18,744 family food packs worth PHP13.97 million, meanwhile, have been propositioned in local government unit (LGU)-managed warehouses.
The LGUS set up these warehouses following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the DSWD on the handling of family food packs.
There are 10,734 food packs in the province of Apayao; 8,834 in Abra; 7,799 in Kalinga; 2,645 in Mountain Province; 4,354 in Ifugao, and 16,673 in Benguet, including this city.
As for non-food items, 29,560 of them worth PHP65.99 million have already been pre-positioned. Non-food items are composed of hygiene kits, kitchen kits, tents and temporary shelters.
The DSWD-CAR also has an available standby fund of PHP4.44 million.
Leo Quintilla, regional director of the DSWD-CAR, in a phone interview on Monday said the region’s topography of being mountainous and susceptible to landslides makes it more important to have pre-positioned relief items in municipalities, especially in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas that are difficult to reach during a calamity.
“Maganda na naka-ready ang mga ito kasi kapag nagsara ang kalsada na madalas nangyayari sa Cordillera dahil kabundukan ang lugar natin, better pag nandun na ang relief items natin (It is better that relief items are already pre-positioned in the event of road closures, which are common in mountainous Cordillera),” Quintilla said.
As of 11 a.m. on Monday, the country's weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has raised TCWS No. 1 and 2 across Luzon and parts of Visayas.
Quintilla also said that the emergency responders are on red alert and closely watching for developments, especially since afternoon downpours in the region have increased the possibility of landslides in the mountains. (PNA)
