DSWD Sets Aside Php1.2 Billion as Standby Funds for ‘Lawin’

To ensure that there is enough food for the victims of Supertyphoon Lawin, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has already set aside Php1.2 billion ($25 million) as standby funds, ready to be released as needed by the local governments.

But that’s not all!

The agency is also not waiting for the typhoon to pass before they start their relief operations. Even as the typhoon was on its way to the Philippines and in the wake of Typhoon Karen which came just days ahead of Lawin, the DSWD and several volunteers mostly from the country’s armed forces, had already began packing up boxes of relief goods.

PTV4 reporter Sweeden Velado covers the packing operations at the DSWD main warehouse in Pasay, showing the pallets already filled up with boxes of relief goods! Each box contains 6 kg of rice, 8 pieces of canned goods, and 6 packs of 3-in-1 instant coffee. One box goes to one family and is estimated to feed them for 2 to 3 days.

The packing center is quite organized, with a huge display showing the targets per hour and per day – and the assembly line style ensures that the work is fast and efficient!

The volunteers are not sitting on the floor arranging the food packs in the video but are standing next to the packing assembly line with conveyor belts. Truly, this system is making sure that the goods are packed on time and ready to be sent to the affected areas.

Instead of plastic bags, the goods are also placed in boxes – with DSWD markings and not the name of the politicians.

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What is Typhoon Lawin?

Typhoon Lawin is a supertyphoon in the Philippines which made landfall in the northern areas of the country at around 11 PM on Wednesday night, October 19. It is stronger and larger and slower-moving compared with the destructive supertyphoon Yolanda.