IN PREPARATION for the coming typhoon season, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Cordillera has prepositioned food and non-food items in designated food hubs in the region.

DSWD-Cordillera Director Leo Quintilla said that aside from the department’s operational response for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic in the region, additional food and non-food items have been in place in storage facilities in the region for immediate distribution in cases of calamities or disasters.

“During this Covid-19 pandemic, we have propositioned our food packs with the initial plans of distributing 100,000 in the entire Cordillera. Considering this, we have already distributed around 88,000 from the food packs augmented to our local government units and what is good is we have established food hubs in the different provinces,” Quintilla said.

At present, DSWD-Cordillera has an available 13,000 family food packs scattered in all food hubs in the region as part of the Covid-19 response.

Quintilla said this will be stock piled for the typhoon season, while awaiting on when Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) will declare the start of the rainy season.

“For this, DSWD is prepared for our food and non-food items. What is also good is that we have also prepositioned many tents of the DSWD in the different municipalities and provinces which is presently being used now as decontamination area, and also being used by the DPWH, DOST and OCD which are presently functioning,” Quintilla added.

The DSWD Central Office earlier replenished Cordillera’s Quick Reaction Fund, which was used for the coronavirus pandemic.

“Our food and non-food items are ready and we still have P3 million quick response fund which we can use in case of disaster which we hope would not occur,” Quintilla added.