President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday commended the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for ramping up the production of family food packs (FFPs) through a new mechanized system aimed at expediting disaster response.
The President visited the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City, where he personally observed the upgraded production line, accompanied by DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian and his son, William Vincent. The system now features a vacuum-sealing process for rice and a barcoding mechanism to track FFPs more efficiently.
“It was President Marcos who ordered the speedy production of family food packs and the DSWD obliged,” Gatchalian said while waiting for the President’s arrival at the site.
The initiative is part of the Buong Bansa Handa (BBH) Program, which aims to strengthen the country’s readiness during natural disasters. The BBH operates on two parallel supply chain tracks: one led by government agencies, and the other in collaboration with private sector players such as supermarkets and manufacturers.
Ahead of Tropical Storm Crising, the DSWD prepositioned over three million FFPs across 934 hubs nationwide. Its main warehouses in Pasay and Mandaue City are capable of producing 75,000 food packs daily.
Gatchalian has also instructed all regional field offices to deploy response teams and deliver relief goods promptly, regardless of the time.
Currently, the DSWD holds P2.9 billion in standby funds and stockpiles that include over three million FFPs, more than 28,000 boxes of ready-to-eat food, and over 330,000 non-food items.
To further boost logistics, the agency recently signed an agreement with the Clark International Airport Corporation to build a new Regional Disaster Response Command Center and warehouse at the Clark Civil Aviation Complex. This facility will join NROC and the Visayas Disaster Resource Center as one of the DSWD’s main relief distribution hubs.
