The Department of Social Welfare and Development on Thursday said that aid worth around half a billion pesos is now in place in case Super Typhoon Mawar will ravage some parts of the country this weekend.

At the regular Laging Handa public briefing in Malacañang, DSWD Assistant Secretary Romel Lopez, the department’s spokesman, said DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian had ordered them to “preposition” the bulk of relief goods as early as Wednesday.

Some 98,000 family food packs or relief goods will be “augmentation'” for Region I.

“That’s Ilocos Region; we also have in Region II, Cagayan Valley; and then Region III, Central Luzon; and Cordillera Administrative Region or CAR and some parts ng Visayas region, especially po itong facing sa Pacific Ocean natin – ‘yung eastern shoreline po ng bansa,” Lopez said.

“On top of that, nasa 689,000 family food packs ang naka-preposition po natin sa buong bansa as we speak, at higit kalahating bilyong piso po iyong katumbas po niyan na monetary value po,” he added.

Lopez said they’re still hoping that the strong typhoon will not directly hit the northern part of the country, the closest of which is the Sta. Ana in Cagayan where heavy rains and strong winds are expected.