Tacloban: Despite fair weather in Eastern Visayas in the past two weeks, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) regional office here assured the public that it has sufficient relief stockpiles and standby funds to promptly respond to emergencies and natural disasters across the region.

According to Philippines News Agency, the DSWD stated that as of July 31, its warehouses in different parts of the region have 168,077 family food packs and boxes of ready-to-eat food, as well as a stockpile of 28,998 non-food items. The agency has also secured standby funds and available relief resources amounting to PHP152.59 million, which can be quickly mobilized for relief operations and emergency needs.

The stock of food supplies and non-food items is intended to ensure faster delivery of relief goods in case of severe flooding and other disasters. The food packs are stored in warehouses located in the towns of Allen and Biri in Northern Samar; Jipapad, Taft, and Guiuan in Eastern Samar; the DSWD Regional Resource Operations Center (RROC) in Palo, Leyte; and Sogod, Southern Leyte. Additional stockpiles are maintained in Almagro and Santo Ni±o in Samar, and Naval, Maripipi, and Kawayan in Biliran province.

Each food pack includes six kilos of rice, four cans of corned beef, four cans of tuna flakes, two cans of sardines, five sachets of coffee, and five sachets of cereal drinks. Non-food items consist of hygiene kits, sleeping kits, kitchen kits, and family kits.

On Thursday, the DSWD convened its response cluster members for a coordination meeting aimed at enhancing disaster response operations in the region. The primary focus of the gathering was to ensure a streamlined approach and improve the overall response to ensure that affected communities receive the aid they need. Response cluster members also presented updates on their ongoing efforts and shared insights on the current readiness of emergency response teams across the region.