ILOILO City — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has sounded the alarm on the urgent need for local government units (LGUs) in Western Visayas to establish warehouses, warning that the absence of storage facilities could delay life-saving aid in times of disaster.
Disaster Response Management Division chief Erlyn Garcia of DSWD Region 6 stressed that prepositioning relief goods must be part of the region’s proactive disaster strategy.
“We are encouraging LGUs to establish their own warehouse, for us to deliver our prepositioned goods as part of our preparations,” she said during the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council’s full meeting on September 30.
Currently, 83 LGUs in the region have their own warehouses.
However, Garcia admitted that gaps remain, particularly in island barangays, where the lack of storage facilities hampers DSWD’s relief preposition agreements with LGUs.
Garcia clarified that once an LGU has an agreement with DSWD, the agency is obligated to ensure that warehouses are stocked ahead of calamities.
Still, she reminded local leaders that the primary responsibility in disaster response lies with them.
“The role of the national agency is more on augmentation because the first to respond will be the LGU,” she explained.
Meanwhile, DSWD reported that it has already extended assistance to 42.36 percent of the 122,368 families affected by recent weather disturbances across the region.
The aid, valued at over P41.28 million, underscores the continuing demand for fast and efficient relief delivery./PN
