MANDAUE CITY -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos
Jr. visited and inspected the newly upgraded Visayas Disaster Resource Center
(VDRC) in Mandaue City, Cebu, February 26, declaring that the facility enables
the national government to directly provide food packs and other aid and
strengthen disaster response and preparedness across the Visayas and Mindanao.
“Ito ang unang panahon na ang national
government ay nagbibigay nitong klaseng food pack. Noong nakaraan, eh kung
saan-saan na lang kumukuha ‘yung mga biktima. Pero ngayon, nakakapag-provide na
ang national government. Kaya maganda itong naging facility natin,” President
Marcos said following his inspection of the state-of-the-art facility.
Marcos said that the VDRC is equipped with five
new Mechanized Production System (MPS) lines designed and built specifically
for the Philippines, costing some P117M for the upgrade that can now produce up
to 30,000 family food packs (FFPs) per eight-hour shift, tripling its previous
capacity.
The VDRC currently has four million food packs
in storage, ready for distribution, but will continue producing until the
facility reaches over 5 million FFPs. Should
there be unused FFPs, President Marcos assured that food packs nearing
expiration are being distributed for free to those in need as part of the
government’s aid system.
The new system not only accelerates production
but also uses machine-operated vacuum sealing to prolong the shelf life of food
packs, making them infestation-free and ready for long-term storage and
prepositioning in disaster-prone regions.
The facility is serving several fire emergencies and other ongoing
disaster response efforts, including areas affected by volcanic activity.
The Visayas hub complements services provided
by the Luzon Disaster Resource Center in Pasay City. While a temporary hub
operates in Mindanao, President Marcos announced plans to construct a permanent
Mindanao Disaster Resource Center in Butuan City.
VDRC also supports programs such as Emergency
Cash Transfer and Cash-for-Work, providing assistance to individuals earning
below the minimum wage. Funded through
the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund, the upgraded MPS was
completed in July 2025.
PBBM inaugurates
Pag-abot Processing Center in Liloan
Reaffirming the administration’s commitment to
inclusive social protection, PBBM also led the inauguration and launching of
the Pag-abot Processing Center (PPC) in Barangay Tayud, Liloan, Cebu, February
26 after his inspection of the VDRC in Mandaue City.
This is the third PPC in Central Visayas that provides
comprehensive social protection services for children, individuals, and
families in street situations while awaiting reintegration. It also supports the implementation of the
Pag-Abot Program under Executive Order No. 52.
“The facility will cater to the three major
cities in Cebu—Cebu City, Mandaue City and Talisay City to ensure the welfare
of Families and Individuals in Street Situations (FISS),” DSWD secretary Rex Gatchalian
said.
Gatchalian emphasized that the agency will link
beneficiaries to long-term support programs, including economic assistance,
livelihood opportunities, educational support, and other social protection
services, to prevent FISS from returning to street situations.
PBBM toured the PPC and also inspected the 2nd
floor facilities, including the child-minding and multi-purpose areas, the
lactation room, the house parents’ room, the male, female, and family sleeping
quarters, and the communal bathrooms.
PBBM said his administration is fully committed
to assist people living on the streets by providing health services, livelihood
assistance, psychosocial support, food, clothing, temporary housing, and other
interventions to improve their lives.
Gatchalan shared that in Cebu, there are more
than 600 homeless individuals have been recorded by the DSWD which is
implementing the Pag-Abot Program to help families and individuals in street
situations. The program provides health
services, food, clothing, psychosocial and livelihood support, temporary
housing, and family reintegration to help beneficiaries move toward stable and
dignified lives.
The DSWD, in coordination with the Department
of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and local government units (LGUs),
is reaching out to families in street situations to ensure their inclusion in
the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and other social protection
initiatives, under the Pag-Abot Program launched in 2023 and later
institutionalized in 2024.
DSWD secretary Gatchalian briefed President
Marcos as they toured the Pag-Abot Processing Center, visiting the clinic,
processing area for beneficiary assessment, profiling, biometrics, and clothing
distribution, storage, and laundry area, kitchen and dining hall,
administrative office, senior citizens’ room, isolation room, and prayer and
activity areas.
The Center is equipped with clinics, regular
rooms, rooms with individual toilets and baths, a communal comfort room with
five toilets and four showers, an administrative office, an activity area, a
prayer room, a kitchen and dining area, a conference room, a profiling area, a
baggage counter, a stockroom, and a laundry area with clotheslines.
The PPC facility can accommodate over 120
beneficiaries and it provides temporary shelter for about one month as part of
a structured reintegration process aimed at restoring stability and creating
opportunities.
The DSWD Field Office VII continues to conduct
proactive reach-out operations for individuals and families in street
situations across the Cities of Cebu, Bogo, Carcar, Danao, Naga, Talisay and
Toledo — strengthening the government’s whole-of-nation approach to uplift
lives and build safer, more inclusive communities.
At the same event, PBBM with DSWD officials Gatchalian
and Innovations Group Undersecretary Edu Punay, Pag-Abot Program Deputy Manager
Marilyn Moral, Congressman Duke Frasco, and Liloan Mayor Aljew Frasco. met the
Walang Gutom Program 34 beneficiaries during their orientation on Nutrition
Education Sessions (NES) at the PPC. (Photos: DSWD7)
