Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Wednesday (October 23) assured President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. that the agency has enough stockpiles of family food packs (FFPs) in its hubs, spokes and last mile warehouses across all regions for augmentation to local government units (LGUs) affected by the onslaught of Tropical Storm Kristine.
“Mr. President, we’re back to the 2 million mark, this is the pre-national stockpile…the identified regions have very high stockpiles. Region 1 (Ilocos Region) has 93,836; Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) has 109,353; Region 3 (Central Luzon) has 170,352; 4A (Calabarzon) has 101,429; 4B (Mimaropa) 101,371,” Secretary Gatchalian reported to President Marcos during the situational briefing at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) office in Quezon City.
“So, as of yesterday, we started distributing already and we continue to distribute. Now we are already in the replenishment stage. Our Pasay hub is running 20,000 FFPs a day so that when the stockpiles [in affected regions] go down, we can keep on sending them [new batches],” Secretary Gatchalian said.
In addition to the provision of food assistance, the DSWD chief was tasked by President Marcos to coordinate with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for the provision of water filtration system in the Bicol Region.
The DSWD will send more than 100 buckets of water filtration kits to Kristine-affected areas in the Bicol region. The family water filtration kits could provide clean water supply to approximately 100 individuals per bucket in one day.
Secretary Gatchalian has earlier demonstrated to President Marcos how the water filtration kit works in producing potable water during the chief executive’s visit to Typhoon-Julian hit Basco, Batanes last October 4.
The DSWD’s Field Office 2-Cagayan Valley distributed water filtration kits from the firm Waves for Water to families affected by Typhoon Julian that severely battered the province of Batanes.
The portable water filtration kit, whose 0.1 micron filters can remove cholera, salmonella, E. Coli, coliform bacteria, includes a bucket adapter filter assembly, drill bit, filter hanger, cleaning plunger and instruction materials.
The portable water filtration system can be deployed to evacuation centers or communities where water sources and distribution system are affected or rendered damaged during natural calamities.
President Marcos has encouraged the Batanes locals to utilize the filtration kits saying these are safe to use.
