Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian and United Nations-World Food Programme (UN-WFP) Representative and Country Director Brenda Barton show the signed deed of donations during the hand-over ceremony of WFP donated equipment to the DSWD. 

In a simple hand-over ceremony on Tuesday, February 28, at the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian received  donated material handling equipment from United Nation’s World Food Programme (UN-WFP) Representative and Country Director Brenda Barton.

The DSWD and WFP signed the deed of donation for the donated equipment which include five units of hand pallet jack, three units of vacuum machine and one unit of push pull forklift for the use of NROC.  In addition, another five units of hand pallet jack, two units of counterbalance forklift, and one unit of reach truck were also donated for the Visayas Disaster Resource Center (VDRC).

WFP Country Director Barton said she is always proud to showcase the amazing service, see the warehouse facility, and appreciate the work that the Department does.

“We consider NROC and the VDRC as the gifts that keep on giving because these are investments from many years ago that we collectively made after Typhoon Yolanda, when the UK and Australian governments supported your request to automate and make your system efficient.”

She added that the WFP welcomes opportunities to help make the Department’s disaster operations better, as the DSWD will undoubtedly be busy when typhoons occur and that the donated equipment will surely help save time and ensure efficiency.

In response, Secretary Rex Gatchalian expressed the Department’s gratitude for the continuous support of the WFP in assisting the DSWD capacitate itself more efficiently in responding to disaster occurrences.

“Thank you, WFP, for the additional donations that you have given the NROC family. We all know that efficiency is always key whether in the workplace or in personal life.  We have to get goods as fast as we can from point A to the hands that need them the most; so these moving and vacuum equipment will come in very, very handy,” the Secretary said.

Secretary Gatchalian also shared that the Department is currently looking at the creation of another repacking center and warehouse facility in Mindanao to increase the DSWD’s capacity to stockpile food packs and other disaster response related resources.

He further said that more needs to be done to ensure that DSWD will respond adequately and appropriately during disaster occurrences.  The Secretary emphasized the importance of “efficiency, prepositioning; making sure that when disaster strikes, DSWD and its partner, WFP, are on the ground when it happens, as it happens, and the last one to leave after it happens.”

Also present during the activity were WFP Deputy Country Director Dipayan Bhattacharyya; WFP Head of Supply Chain Kevin Howley; WFP Logistics Associate Carlo Buning; WFP Program Policy Officer Alice Follosco; Partnership and Reports Associate Katrinamae Lerios; Communications Assistant Christian Reyes; DSWD Undersecretary Marco Bautista; Assistant Secretary Diana Rose Cajipe; and, National Resource and Logistics Management Bureau Director Corazon L. Macaraeg. ###