Gamu, Isabela – Food and non-food items of the DSWD Field Office 02 can now be prepositioned in military warehouses in Gamu and Echague, Isabela operated by the Philippine Army’s 5th Infantry Division (PA 5ID) Camp, after a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed earlier today between the two parties.

Leading the DSWD party was Regional Director Fernando R. De Villa, Jr. while Major General Pablo M. Lorenzo led the way for the PA 5ID in a ceremony held at the 5th Infantry Division’s Headquarter.

The signing of the MOU comes after a series of calamities last year prompted the field office to come up with new strategies and solutions to make the delivery of services during its disaster response operations more efficient to the areas that it serves.

With the new set up, food and non-food items of the DSWD can now reach Isabela municipalities, even as far as the provinces of Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya if needed, faster as the items would not have to be transported from a farther location.

Director De Villa, Jr. meanwhile lauded the signing as an opportunity to strengthen the partnership of the agency with the Philippine Army, with the PA 5ID already being tapped before to help in the various endeavors of the field office during calamities.

Major General Lorenzo, in his speech, mentions the eagerness of the PA 5ID to assist the DSWD in its disaster endeavor as part of their greater goal of being able to bring government programs and services closer to the people.

The DSWD Field Office 02 maintains a warehouse in Tuguegarao City for its food and non-food items along with prepositioned goods in its Social Welfare and Development (SWAD) offices in Batanes, Isabela, Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya. ###