DSWD on full alert as storm ‘Tino’ nears PAR

As Tropical Storm “Tino” is expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) and make landfall over the Visayas to Northern Mindanao on Monday, 03 November, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) assured the public that all its field offices are on full alert and prepared to deliver immediate assistance.

Under the Bagong Bansa Handa (BBH) Program, the DSWD utilized a dual supply chain system to preposition relief goods in warehouses nationwide, involving both government and private distributors.

“The first system is government-led, where we strengthened the production and stockpiling of family food packs (FFPs). We added more warehouses and are also using the warehouses of local government units (LGUs) through preposition agreements,” DSWD spokesperson Assistant Secretary Dumlao said on Sunday.

The DSWD spokesperson explained that the second mechanism involves partnerships with private distributors to further produce FFPs through additional supplies they can provide.

“So that if we need additional supplies, we can quickly add and complement the family food packs that we made,” Asec. Dumlao explained.

Through the mechanized and manual packing systems of the Luzon and Visayas Disaster Resource Centers, the DSWD is now able to produce 18,000 to 20,000 FFPs per day, allowing rapid replenishment and deployment of relief goods to local government units.

Based on current data, a total of 558,098 FFPs are already prepositioned across DSWD warehouses nationwide. This includes 122,884 food packs in MIMAROPA, 89,566 in Region 6 (Western Visayas), 70,799 in the Negros Island Region (NIR), 71,539 in Region 7 (Central Visayas), 121,331 in Region 8 (Eastern Visayas), and 81,989 food boxes in CARAGA.

Furthermore, DSWD said it is ready to deploy specialized equipment such as a mobile command center, mobile kitchen, water trucks, and water treatment units to support evacuees and provide access to safe drinking water.

The Disaster Response Management Bureau (DRMB), under the DRMG cluster, remains on full alert for the observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day and is closely monitoring an additional low-pressure area outside PAR that may develop into a tropical cyclone.

The DSWD advised the public to stay alert, heed official government advisories, and cooperate with authorities to ensure a safe and orderly Undas 2025.