The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has readied 35,347 family food packs in Ilocos Region in preparation for Typhoon Mawar which is expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) this weekend.

Based on the statement issued by the DSWD on Thursday, 1,500 food packs have been delivered in warehouses in the municipality of Anda and 1,000 in Bautista town, both in Pangasinan province and 2,000 in the regional warehouse in San Fernando City, La Union while the rest are on standby in other satellite centers.

“Ang mga family food packs po ay hindi direktang o basta-bastang binibigay o iniaabot sa mga affected. Ang unang gagamitin ng ating mga local government units (LGUs) ay ang kanilang Quick Response Fund (The family food packs are not directly given to the affected. The LGUs will first use their quick response fund),” said DSWD information officer Anne Hazel Fajardo-Flores in a statement on Thursday.

She added that the LGUs may request the DSWD for augmentation if their funds are not enough for the number of recipients.

Also readied are 29,868 non-food items and 5,007 bottled drinking water.

In a recent statement, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian assured the public that the agency has enough prepositioned relief goods in regions that will likely be hit by the approaching typhoon.

At present, the DSWD Central Office has prepositioned 689,885 family food packs nationwide.

DSWD has also started the delivery of 98,000 FFPs in Regions I (Ilocos Region), II (Cagayan Valley), III (Central Luzon), the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), and the Visayas Region.

Close attention was given to the eastern seaboards of Region I, Region II, and Region III making sure that capacities in these areas are being doubled, Gatchalian said. (PNA)