The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Saturday that it is ready to dispatch more than 5 million prepositioned family food packs (FFPs) as a new weather disturbance continues to affect the country.

“DSWD remains ready for whatever effects the tropical depression spotted outside the PAR may bring,” DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said.

“In fact, we have more than 5 million FFPs prepositioned in various parts of the country,” she added.

The agency reported that more than 805,000 boxes of FFPs are available at the Luzon Disaster Resource Center (LDRC) in Pasay City, while another 475,000 boxes are stored at the Visayas Disaster Resource Center (VDRC) in Mandaue City.

In Mindanao, around 196,000 boxes of FFPs are prepositioned at the Mindanao Disaster Resource Center (MDRC) in Butuan City, under the supervision of the DSWD Field Office Caraga.

“Aside from food packs, there is also more than P1.6 billion in standby funds ready to be used for disaster response operations,” the DSWD spokesperson said.

The agency’s specialized equipment ready for deployment includes mobile command centers (MCCs), mobile kitchens, water trucks and water treatment units.

Dumlao noted that all DSWD field offices continue to monitor the situation to assist local governments currently affected by the inclement weather.

“The DSWD’s lines are open, and you can be assured that we will immediately send assistance,” she said.