P3B in aid ready for 2025 calamities -- DSWD

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Sunday that it has P3 billion in standby funds and a prepositioned relief stockpile ready for calamities nationwide this year.

“Ito po ay magagamit natin para tutugon sa mga request ng iba't-ibang local government units (LGUs) na naapektuhan (this will be used to respond to the different requests of calamity-affected LGUs),” DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao told Super Radyo dzBB.

She added that over three million family food packs are prepositioned in DSWD warehouses across the country, as well as in local government units (LGUs) and private organizations’ warehouses.

In a separate dzBB interview, the Office of Civil Defense reported over 3,700 families from the Ilocos Region (Region I), Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), and Cagayan Valley (Region II) have been affected so far by Bising (international name: Danas).

Dumlao said DSWD has provided aid to the affected residents, particularly in Benguet and Ilocos Sur.

On Friday, Bising exited the PAR. It developed into a severe tropical storm on Saturday night and reached typhoon category on Sunday.

PAGASA said Danas may re-enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by this evening or early Monday morning.

At 11 p.m., Danas was observed 385 kilometers west northwest of Itbayat, Batanes, with maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 150 km/h, and heading north northwestward at 10 km/h. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News