An official of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported on Wednesday that the agency has established 981 storage facilities nationwide, citing this as a way to ensure the agency’s faster disaster response operations.

“We now have 981 warehouses in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, which have greatly helped in our prepositioning of relief supplies as well as in fast-tracking our disaster response and relief operations across the country,” Assistant Secretary Juan Carlo Marquez, who is also the DSWD co-spokesperson, said.

According to Marquez, the expanded warehousing capacity of the Department has resulted in more efficient disaster response, with a number of DSWD Field Offices (FOs) even gaining commendation from the legislative branch with their swift action amid the onslaught of recent disasters.

“During our budget hearing in Congress, our Central Luzon Regional Director Venus Rebuldela and NCR (National Capital Region) Regional Director Michael Joseph Lorico were respectively hailed by their congressmen due to their quick response at the height of typhoon Carina,” the DSWD co-spokesperson recalled.

The DSWD also has 894 last mile warehouses nationwide strategically located in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas or hard-to-reach areas, including 4th, 5th and 6th class municipalities.

“When asked what boosted their efficiency, they pointed out their prepositioning efforts were instrumental in their swift response,” Marquez said.

The total number of warehouses is composed of hubs, spokes and last-mile facilities.

Currently, the DSWD has 12 hubs serving as the central storage facilities. These include three National Resource Operations Centers located in Pasay City, Valenzuela City and Parañaque City; and the Visayas Disaster Resource Centers in Mandaue City, Cebu.

There are also four DSWD FO 3-Central Luzon hubs in Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga and Tarlac; and one DSWD FO 11-Davao Region hub in Pantukan, Davao de Oro. 

Another hub is currently being constructed in Butuan City in Caraga Region that will serve the whole of Mindanao.

Aside from the hubs, the DSWD has 75 spokes facilities nationwide which are provided by LGUs in strategically located areas in cities as well as in 1st, 2nd and 3rd class municipalities.

The DSWD also has 894 last mile warehouses nationwide strategically located in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) or hard-to-reach areas, including 4th, 5th and 6th class municipalities.

“These are the result of our commitment to tap on formalized partnerships with LGUs. In our agreements, they either let us rent their local facilities or use them for free,” the DSWD co-spokesperson said.

The recently inaugurated storage facility in Polillo Island in Quezon province is among the latest addition to the storage facilities located in isolated and hard-to-reach areas in the country, according to Assistant Secretary Marquez. 

The prepositioning of food and non-food items in GIDA addresses the challenge of transporting relief goods during disasters, according to the DSWD official.

“The growing number of the agency’s warehouses is cutting down the logistics-related issues and ensuring that the needs of disaster-affected families are promptly met, particularly in crucial moments,” Marquez said.