In keeping with the agency’s augmentation support role on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, the DSWD Field Office Eight has started pre-positioning family food packs to disaster-prone areas as early as July of this year.

“We are taking a proactive stance to be able to provide timely response to victims of calamities, with the onset of typhoon months and the rainy season, ” DSWD Field Office Eight Director RemiaTapispisan announced. She said, the DSWD is most concerned of the vulnerable families who become totally helpless as they are displaced – from their homes and source of livelihood.

Priority areas issued of said relief aid are the municipalities of Palo, Abuyog, Javier, La Paz, Mahaplag, and MacArthur of Leyte province, St. Bernard and San Juan of Southern Leyte, Sta. Rita, Tarangnan, and Pagsanghan of Samar, and the city of Tacloban.

Pauline Nadera, focal person for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management revealed that each of the areas were provided a total of 500 family food packs. Each pack costs two hundred and fifty pesos, and is good for a family of five members for a day’s consumption.

 Nadera bared that each pack contains three kilos of rice, four tins of canned meat, three packs noodles, and one box of 150 – gram milk. She emphasized, however, that the family food packs are exclusively for disaster victims !

The DSWD has issued some reminders to the concerned local government units (LGUs), like ensuring that food commodities are stored in a safe bodega to avoid spoilage. Also, the relief distribution should always be supported by a Relief Distribution Sheet and Family Access Cards.

Should there be no occurrences during the year, the areas with prepositioned goods can embark on disaster preparedness/mitigation/rehabilitation activities or projects in their communities, utilizing the food-for-work scheme. The families are involved in the undertakings, and will be provided with food packs in exchange for the work they render