DSWD prepositions 218K food packs amid Taal unrest

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) mobilized regional relief stockpiles Friday to assist communities surrounding Taal Volcano following a minor phreatomagmatic eruption Thursday evening, agency officials announced.

DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao confirmed that the agency’s Calabarzon regional field office maintains more than 218,000 family food packs across strategic warehouses, ready for rapid deployment to Batangas province and adjacent areas affected by volcanic activity and ashfall.

“These can be immediately augmented to the province of Batangas and nearby areas affected by the volcanic unrest,” Dumlao said Friday.

In addition to food supplies, the department has prepositioned more than 9,700 non-food item kits and over 11,100 ready-to-eat meal packs across the region.

Dumlao added that the department maintains P291.35 million in its Quick Response Fund to sustain disaster relief operations should volcanic activity escalate.

Social welfare officers are coordinating with municipal disaster risk reduction officials in high-risk areas, including the towns of Agoncillo, Lemery, San Nicolas and Taal, where local authorities initiated preemptive evacuations and ashfall monitoring.

“To our fellow Filipinos living in these areas and nearby localities, please remain alert and continue listening to your local chief executives to ensure your safety,” Dumlao said.