PREPARATIONS. The Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Cordillera Administrative Region has initially earmarked PHP35.86 million for measures and supplies ahead of the La Niña phenomenon. DSWD-CAR assistant regional director Enrique Gascon said the agency maintains over 40,000 family food packs and 20,000 non-food items at any given time to ensure their availability in cases of disaster. (PNA photo by Liza T. Agoot)
BAGUIO CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Cordillera Administrative Region (DSWD-CAR) has set aside an initial PHP35.86 million for La Niña-related measures and continues to preposition family food packs and other humanitarian supplies.
Based on the Department’s 2024 La Niña Action Plan, bulk of the budget is for the prepositioned welfare goods, social welfare and institutional development fora, training of the DSWD-CAR quick response team, standby fund for relief augmentation operation and early recovery plans and preparations.
Novelia Pocding, Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) action officer of the DSWD-CAR, said training of their personnel who are sent to the field during calamities are continuously conducted to protect themselves and help others in case of need.
She said they also assist in the conduct of training by local government units’ personnel, especially on camp coordination and management, handling of internally displaced persons, supply chain management, women and children-friendly spaces, and comprehensive emergency programs for children.
“We have programs for preparedness which aims to mitigate the suffering of the people when calamities strike,” she said.
During the Bagong Pilipinas (New Philippines) briefing here on Tuesday, Enrique Gascon, assistant regional director of DSWD-CAR, said the agency augments the resources of local governments in terms of providing family food packs and non-food items.
“We have entered into a memorandum of agreement with at least 72 local government units in the region, which allows us to turn over (the food packs) to their custody and place (it) in their warehouses that passed the agency’s standard for food storage. This is a proactive measure to ensure timely and efficient delivery of relief items to affected families or communities in CAR and nearby regions by strategically placing welfare goods in the LGUs for accessibility in times of disaster,” he said.
Gascon said they ensure that they are above the minimum stockpiling of 40,000 family food packs and at least 20,000 non-food items at any given time.
He said at least 22,805 of these are in Benguet province including Baguio City; 800 in Ifugao; 1,552 in Mountain Province; 5,799 in Kalinga; 7405 in Abra and 1,093 in Apayao.
“We hope to have all the 83 LGUs complete the memorandum of agreement so that supplies will be made available where calamities will happen,” he said. (PNA)
