DSWD Sec. Rex Gatchalian —FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has assured the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) that a proposed P1.5 billion budget will be allocated for the construction of the Mindanao Disaster Resource Center (MDRC).
DSWD chief Rex Gatchalian made the revelation on Wednesday, noting that the MDRC’s construction would “ensure immediate relief assistance in Southern Philippines” and assist in the efficiency of disaster response operations in the region.
“Inexplain ko sa kanya na sana rin magkaroon ng ganito sa Mindanao kasi right now our Mindanao center is being catered by the Visayas center. Si Sec. Amenah [Pangandaman] taga-Mindanao sya, she understands fully the importance of creating another hub,” Gatchalian said in a statement.
(I explained to her that I plan to have something like this in Mindanao because our Mindanao center is currently being catered to by the Visayas center. Sec. Amenah [Pangandaman] is from Mindanao; she fully understands the importance of creating another hub.)
READ: DSWD: Mindanao floods affect 57,000 families
“So, mag-uusap kami ni Sec. Rex kung magkano ang kanyang kinakailangan para makapagpatayo tayo ng ganito. Sana masimulan natin within the year yung structure at ma-order na rin yung mga equipment,” Pangandaman, for her part, said.
(So, Sec. Rex and I will discuss how much he needs to build something like this. Hopefully, we can start the structure within the year and order the equipment.)
Aside from the construction of the facility, the DSWD also showed DBM executives the Buong Bansa Handa (BBH) program and the newly installed mechanized production system (MPS).
“The BBH program taps two supply chains to deliver the basic food and non-food requirements of disaster victims. The first supply chain features an expanded network of warehouse facilities of local government units, provincial governments, and other national government agencies, while the other one will be private-sector driven,” the agency said.
Meanwhile, the installation of the MPS “improved the packing efficiency and production capacity of the DSWD’s disaster hubs.” —Andrei Sabinay, INQUIRER.net intern
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