DSWD readies food packs for remote areas

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 20, 2019): DSWD readies food packs for remote areas



MOA SIGNING. Department of Social Welfare and Development-Cordillera Director Janet Armas and Philippine Army 503rd Infantry Brigade Commander Brigadier General Henry Doyaoen sign a Memorandum of Agreement for the faster delivery of relief and food packs before and during calamities. In the Cordillera region, there are warehouses in Apayao, La Trinidad in Benguet, and Kalinga, that are set up at the Army headquarters through a memorandum of agreement. (File photo courtesy of DSWD-CAR Facebook)

The Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Cordillera Administrative Region (DSWD-CAR) has started to preposition relief goods, especially for areas that could be isolated during the rainy season.

“We want to establish per province first because we cannot afford if it would be per municipality but we are prioritizing the clusters where road closures are common during a typhoon. These are mostly in the upland areas,” said DSWD-CAR regional director Janet Armas during the “Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan” (KALAHI) Serye” regional local government forum here on Wednesday.

Armas said the prepositioning of goods is vital, considering the mountainous terrain of the region.

The Philippine Army (PA) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) assist in the transportation of relief goods and provide areas for storage.

Armas said warehouses have to be established since downloading of relief funds to local government units are prohibited.

The agency has partnered with the different government and military facilities to be used as relief goods warehouses in the different provinces.

In the Cordillera region, there are warehouses in Apayao, La Trinidad in Benguet, and Kalinga, that are set up at the Army headquarters through a memorandum of agreement.

“We recognize that the Philippine Army plays a major role in reducing and managing disaster risks in our communities. We are very much elated that through this partnership, we will be able to occupy and temporarily use a portion of their existing warehouse for prepositioning our relief goods,” Armas said.

“For the past years, the region experienced destructive typhoons, floods, and landslides. Kalinga province has been recorded to have one of the highest numbers of affected families. With its distance from the Field Office, the warehouse in Kalinga will definitely help us in providing the necessary relief assistance to the province and other nearby areas,” she added.

Armas said the region has been allotted 30,000 family food packs and a contingency fund of PHP3 million.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1072719