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.
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)
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