MANILA — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Wednesday it has already pre-positioned some 270,574 family food packs worth Php18 million as part of the preparations to augment the resources of local government units (LGUs) that maybe affected by oncoming typhoon “Hagupit.”
The DSWD made the move as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) forecast that typhoon “Hagupit” would be entering the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) Thursday and would be renamed locally as “Ruby.”
In a statement, DSWD Secretary Corazon J. Soliman said that other food and non-food items amounting to more than Php270 million are also on standby in the regional offices of the agency.
She added that as part of the department’s strengthened precautionary measures, all DSWD Field Offices have been directed to have standby funds amounting to Php18,000,711 for the purchase of emergency relief supplies.
She assured that the Department has adequate stockpiles of commodities and standby funds for relief operations at the national and regional levels.
She said that such preparations are part of the Department’s strengthened disaster response operations, especially that “Hagupit” is forecast to be slow and strong.
The DSWD’s regional Quick Response Teams (QRT) have also been activated and ordered to coordinate with local government units for steps to be taken like pre-emptive evacuations, if necessary.
According to PAGASA, the typhoon is expected to make landfall in Eastern Visayas and may cut across Central and Western Visayas.