Upon the instructions of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is embarking on the modernization and capacity expansion of the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City and the Visayas Disaster Resource Center (VDRC) in Mandaue City, Cebu to further improve disaster response.

“We embarked on a modernization and capacity expansion program of our family food pack (FFP) production lines in Pasay and Cebu (these two hubs service all the regions during calamities), DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said in a post in his X account on Tuesday.

“Before, cumulatively, we could produce 40,000 family food packs between two hubs, now we can produce close to 70,000. This will ensure even faster disaster response.”

The FFPs produced at the NROC and the VDRC will be allocated for prepositioning to the different storage facilities nationwide.

The DSWD chief posted the update following his visit to the NROC, where he checked on the newly installed mechanized packing system.

The new system will enable the DSWD to produce more FFPs daily and ensure that there are enough supplies at any given time nationwide.

It features three rice bagging machines for vacuum seal application, giving the rice a longer shelf life and protecting it from impurities.

“To address issues relative to the tracking of expiry dates of supplies, the DSWD has also introduced a new barcoding system for better inventory management to ensure that every food box is accounted for,” Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian has also given instructions for the creation of a system with automated notifications for the expiry of FFP materials to be sent directly to the Central Office and simultaneously to all Field Offices.

“All of these are in line with PBBM’s vision of faster and efficient disaster response to benefit more disaster-affected Filipino families,” Gatchalian said. (PNA)