The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) frontline offices are on full alert and ready to provide augmentation support to any local government unit (LGU) in the direct path of Super Typhoon “Uwan.”
Assistant Secretary Leo Quintilla of the Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) reported to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) that the DSWD has over 2.04 million family food packs (FFPs) prepositioned in hubs, spokes, and last-mile warehouses across the country.
Quintilla, who also serves as the Officer-in-Charge of the DSWD’s National Resource and Logistics Management Bureau (NRLMB), said the department’s disaster response teams are fully activated and monitoring updates on the intensifying storm.
“The DSWD is ready. We have a total of 2,040,813 family food boxes, we have 314,000 non-food items, and we have 91,101 ready-to-eat food (RTEF),” Quintilla said during a virtual press briefing. “These RTEFs are provided to stranded individuals in ports, and during the first day of disaster when community kitchens are not yet operational.”
Quintilla added that the department will begin prepositioning portable water filtration kits in areas expected to be impacted.
“Starting this weekend until Monday, we will also preposition water filtration kits, especially in North Luzon,” he said.
Each portable filtration unit includes 0.1-micron filters capable of removing cholera, salmonella, E. coli, and coliform bacteria. The kits come with a bucket adapter filter assembly, drill bit, filter hanger, cleaning plunger, and instructions, and can be deployed to evacuation centers or communities where water systems are compromised.
Aside from food and water support, Quintilla also assured the public that specialized equipment—including a mobile command center (MCC), mobile kitchen, water trucks, and water treatment units—are ready for deployment to LGUs needing additional assistance.