BAGUIO CITY — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) delivered an additional 5,000 boxes of family food packs (FFPs) to various warehouses in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) amid the growing threat of Super Typhoon Nando as it approaches Northern Luzon.
At least 4,000 food packs arrived at the Kalinga warehouse and 1,000 packs at the Benguet warehouse on Sunday, confirmed Assistant Secretary Irene B. Dumlao of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group.
The offloading of these supplies is ongoing to ensure they are ready for distribution, she added.
“The additional FFPs are part of our ongoing effort to ensure that affected families in the region will have access to food supplies as the storm approaches,” Ms. Dumlao said.
CAR is one of the areas that will bear the brunt of the super typhoon which has been intensified to wind speeds of 185 kilometers per hour (kph), with gusts reaching up to 230 kph, according to the state weather bureau’s 11 a.m. bulletin.
The DSWD is also focusing relief efforts on Cagayan Valley, another area in the typhoon’s path.
At least 8,500 boxes of FFPs are currently en route to Cagayan and Isabela provinces, complementing the prepositioned stock of 133,533 food packs in the entire Cagayan Valley region, Ms. Dumlao added.
“Aside from the additional 8,500 packs, we have more than 20,000 pre-positioned in Batanes alone to ensure that affected communities in the northernmost provinces have adequate support,” the DSWD senior official said. These strategic placements aim to guarantee that no community is left without relief, even in remote areas, she stressed.
To bolster the disaster response, volunteers at the Luzon Disaster Resource Center in Pasay City are continuing to produce additional food packs, according to the DSWD.
The Social Welfare department said it has been on Red Alert since Friday, Sept. 19, to facilitate the timely deployment of relief supplies and ensure coordination across its various field offices.
With Nando’s intensifying strength, Ms. Dumlao urged the public to remain vigilant and follow the directives of local officials for their safety. “Please stay inside your homes and follow local government instructions. We are doing everything possible to ensure that no one goes hungry during the storm,” Ms. Dumlao assured. — Artemio A. Dumlao
