DSWD prepositions 1.3M food packs for Typhoon Pepito

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) currently has a national stockpile of 1.3 million family food packs (FFPs) to support local government units (LGUs) still recovering from previous storms and those that may be affected by the approaching Typhoon Pepito.

At a situation briefing on Friday, 15 November, at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) office in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian reported to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. the agency’s disaster response efforts for Typhoons "Pepito", "Ofel", and "Nika".

"We maintain a 1.3 million stockpile of FFPs nationwide. We're not dropping that. Then we're now utilizing two supply lines. Simultaneously, we're producing from Central Luzon, Pasay City, and Cebu," Secretary Gatchalian told the President.

"We're already getting our suppliers delivered to us prepacked. So dalawa na. While we're producing, we're also receiving prepacked levels," the DSWD chief added.

Gatchalian said the agency is enhancing its repacking efforts while procuring prepacked food packs to expedite preparations for Typhoon Pepito.

The strategy falls under the agency's "Buong Bansa Handa" mechanism, which activates two supply chains simultaneously, especially during disasters.

The first supply chain focuses on improving production capabilities and processes at the DSWD's National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City, the Visayas Disaster Resource Center (VDRC) in Cebu, and various warehouse and storage facilities across the 16 DSWD Field Offices.

According to Gatchalian, this system was fully activated at the DSWD Central Luzon hub in San Simon, Pampanga, to accelerate relief support for families affected by Typhoon Kristine and other previous storms in Northern Luzon.

"After the impact of Kristine, we produced supplies from our National Resource Operations Center in Pasay, then we opened another center in Central Luzon and the Visayas Disaster Response Center, which assisted in supplying the Bicol Region," Gatchalian explained.

He also highlighted the second supply chain, which involves collaborations with the private sector to meet the needs of families in disaster-stricken areas.

The DSWD chief said the Department plans to increase its daily production of FFPs to between 50,000 and 85,000 boxes per day to avoid straining the supply chain.

"Mr. President, our usual production in Luzon was 35,000 FFPs daily. Next week, we will reach 85,000, and it won't drop to 50,000 because we expect Pepito to be very severe. That's why we are coordinating everything for next week," Gatchalian said.

With this production capacity, Gatchalian assured the President that the agency could produce 1 million FFPs by December 7, in addition to the 1.3 million FFPs currently in stock.

Despite the increasing demand, Gatchalian expressed confidence in the agency’s ability to maintain relief supplies, citing the recent replenishment of the Department's Quick Response Funds (QRF).

“Ang lagi hong tinatanong kung kaya pa natin? Masasabi po na kaya po natin because we just got our QRF and we can produce another 1 million FFPs on top of the 1.3 million FFPs that are spread across our warehouses, spokes, and last-mile facilities nationwide,” the DSWD Secretary said.