DSWD positions food packs as Typhoon Mawar approaches

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has positioned food packs in areas expected to be hit by Typhoon Mawar (international name) once it enters the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), an official said Wednesday.

DSWD spokesperson Romel Lopez said a bulk of the 98,000 family food packs to be disbursed in Region 1, Region 2, Region 3, and the Cordillera Administrative Region had already arrived in the areas ahead of Mawar’s expected entry.

“We can expect na until tomorrow, nandyan na po ‘yung bulk ng 98,000 na additional augmentation natin. On top of it, sa ngayon nakikita natin na nasa 800,000 food packs na ang naka-preposition sa buong bansa,” he told Balitanghali in an interview.

(We can expect that the distribution of the additional augmentation will last until Thursday. On top of it, at least 800,000 food packs have been prepositioned in the country.)

“Ang halaga po niyan nasa higit kalahating bilyong piso,” said Lopez.

(Total costs are around P500 million.)

State weather bureau PAGASA said Mawar, which remains outside PAR, weakened into a typhoon from its super typhoon category on Wednesday morning. It is expected to enter the country by Friday or Saturday and will be given the local name “Betty.”

Several government offices have started preparations for the typhoon including the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government. — Sundy Locus/BM, GMA Integrated News