The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has started delivering food and non-food essentials to local government units (LGUs) that have requested for augmentation support amid the enforcement of community quarantine due to COVID-19. 

The Department emphasized that it intensified its coordination with LGUs in identifying target beneficiaries, distribution points, and strategies to ensure that the provision of food assistance conforms to the stringent policy on social distancing and preventing mass gathering,  as prescribed by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID). 

As of press time, DSWD National Capital Region (NCR) has initially delivered family food packs (FFPs) to the LGUs of Quezon City,  Valenzuela, and Malabon.  On the other hand, DSWD-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) has also provided FFPs to the LGU of Baguio City while DSWD-FO XI delivered supplies to Davao City and Davao Oriental LGUs. 

Likewise, other DSWD Field Offices have prepositioned relief supplies in their respective warehouses ready to be distributed to LGUs that will be requesting for augmentation support. 

Meanwhile, there are ongoing repacking activities of relief goods at the National Resource Operations Center (NROC), the main warehouse of the Department located in Pasay City, and in the different DSWD-Field Offices nationwide. This will ensure that food packs and non-food items are available and ready to be immediately transported to  LGUs. 

At present, DSWD is also coordinating with the Armed Forces of the Philippines for the identification of facilities that may be used for repacking. 

The Department assures the public that its current capacities to respond to the needs of affected families is still sufficient. The DSWD Central Office has a total of P1.3 billion Quick Response Fund (QRF), which can be replenished by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) once exhausted, to sustain the provision of food and other essential supplies to various communities.  

The provision of food and non-food assistance to the LGUs is part of DSWD’s Resource Augmentation and Technical Assistance (TARA) mandate during emergencies such as this public health crisis due to COVID-19. ###