The Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Northern Luzon Command or NoLCom said Friday it has already transported some 850 boxes of relief items to Basco, Batanes via the Philippine Air Force’s C130 aircraft in anticipation of the onslaught of Typhoon “Mawar” in the country this weekend.

NoLCom Commander, Lt.Gen. Fernyl Buca, said the advance delivery of the relief goods to the province was coordinated among the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Office of the Civil Defense, the Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine National Police, and the PAF’s Tactical Operation Group 2.

Buca said the member agencies of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council are also closely coordinating with the local government units and non-government organizations in the Luzon provinces.

He assured of the continuous transportation of sufficient relief goods “before and after the typhoon hit the islands of Luzon.”

“All units under NoLCom are on standby to conduct humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations as soon as the need arises,” Buca added.

NoLCom is the AFP’s unified command in charge of the Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley, and Central Luzon, including the indifferent maritime areas in the West Philippine Sea, Batanes Group of Islands, and Philippine Rise in the Pacific Ocean.

Based on the latest PAGASA weather bulletin, the center or the eye of Typhoon “Mawar” with local name “Betty” was last tracked over 1,475 kilometers east of Central Luzon (15.8°N, 135.9°E).

It packs maximum sustained winds of 205 kilometers per hour near the center with gustiness of up to 250 km/h and a central pressure of 910 hPa.