MANILA – Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Monday instructed the Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) to be on high alert and be prepared to provide assistance and resource augmentation to all local government units (LGUs) along the track of Tropical Depression (TD) Kristine.
Gatchalian said the DRMG will meet with the DSWD regional directors nationwide at 4 p.m. Monday to further discuss preparedness and response efforts for the weather disturbance.
“We have to make sure Field Offices 1 and 2 and CAR’s (Cordillera Administrative Region) stockpiles are in full strength,” Gatchalian told the DRMG group, emphasizing that TD Kristine has the same track as Super Typhoon Carina that severely battered Northern Luzon in July.
He also ordered the National Resource Operations Center (NROC), the agency’s main disaster response hub located in Pasay City, to speed up its production of family food packs (FFPs) as the agency needs to be prepared and ready when the storm hits Batanes.
“Request assistance from the Philippine Air Force and Navy to deliver the FFPs and other non-food items to Batanes,” Gatchalian further directed the DRMG group headed by Undersecretary Diana Rose Cajipe.
As of press time, there are a total of 94, 838 boxes of FFPs in Region 1 (Ilocos Region); 113, 296 FFPs in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley Region); and 62, 360 in CAR.
A total of 186, 311 FFPs in NROC are already on standby for augmentation to affected localities.
“We are in constant communication with the Philippine Navy and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) to prioritize the delivery of FFPs in the island province of Batanes,” Cajipe said in response to the instruction of Secretary Gatchalian.
Cajipe said the DSWD intends to increase the stockpiles in the island province of Batanes to 14, 000 FFPs by Wednesday.
Currently, there are 1, 683 FFPs in Itbayat, Batanes and the NROC is ready to dispatch more food packs either from Villamor Airbase, Sta. Ana in Cagayan, or from Laoag City.
30 million Filipinos at risk: OCD
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) called on those living in areas on the path of the tropical depression to “undertake heightened preparedness” as the weather disturbance is expected to affect 30 million persons in various regions nationwide.
OCD administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno added that this significant increase from an earlier estimate of 1 million underscores the cyclone’s potential to affect a vast population from Luzon to Mindanao.
“According to the latest forecast from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the number of potential victims has surged to 30 million. This is a considerable population at risk, and we need all hands on deck to mitigate the impacts of this disaster,” Nepomuceno said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau has reported that over 18, 000 barangays are at risk of rain-induced landslides and floods, particularly in Central Visayas, Cordillera Administrative Region, Eastern Visayas, Ilocos region, Mimaropa, Northern Mindanao, Soccsksargen, Western Visayas, and Zamboanga Peninsula.
In Metro Manila, 1, 403 barangays are also vulnerable to landslide and flood hazards due to “Kristine”, including areas in Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, Pasay, Pateros, Las Piñas, Makati, Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Taguig, Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Pasig, San Juan, and Manila. (With Priam Nepomuceno/PNA)