100,000 additional food packs sent to Mayon-affected residents

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has ordered the release of 100,000 additional family food packs (FFPs) to residents in Albay affected by the restive Mayon Volcano.

The food packs are being prepositioned in the Bicol Region to support families within areas at risk due to the volcano, which remains under Alert Level 3.

More than 111,000 FFPs, over 16,500 ready-to-eat food (RTEF) boxes, and more than 15,000 non-food items are currently stored in DSWD Field Office 5 warehouses.

Following the alert status upgrade by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), 163 RTEF boxes were distributed to evacuees at Tagaytay Elementary School and Bariw Elementary School in Camalig, Albay.

DSWD has also set up 25 modular tents at the Buang Evacuation Center and Buang Covered Court in Tabaco City to accommodate evacuees from the 6-kilometer permanent danger zone around the volcano.

The regional office is coordinating with local disaster risk management offices and local government units to determine additional assistance for affected families.

According to DSWD data, the agency maintains a total of 558,362 FFPs across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao disaster resource centers to support ongoing and future emergency response operations.