LAST week, a certain blogger started a firestorm, reporting that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has been allegedly hoarding imported relief goods.
To pacify the picketing mob of militant urban poor and labor leaders, Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral explained that “the distribution of relief goods to typhoon victims is done upon the request of local government units, a system that stems from the devolution of the social services function under the law.”
“The relief goods are released to our regional offices or directly to evacuation centers or to the local government units as they are needed and requested by these entities. They are delivered in trucks, many of which were lent to us by private companies or by military vehicles. Some of the goods are shipped by air from nearby Villamor Airbase,” Cabral said in a statement issued on October 23.
The statement also said “that while the DSWD “warehouses are indeed full … there are no rotting relief goods in our warehouses as we do not keep perishables there and the relief goods that are there, save for the donated old clothes, are quite new since they have been either recently purchased by us or have been just donated.”
As for the blogger who posted the report on the alleged hoarding, she has clarified her stand on the issue, saying that “all she did was ask the right questions that sparked a controversy and that she has no hidden agenda.” She also explained that she did not accuse anyone of hoarding and that there were no allegations of pilferage. “Most of all, I have no intention of putting the hardworking DSWD employees in a bad light,” she further emphasized.
Another reason why DSWD was not able to release the goods immediately is due to a lack of volunteers.
We can only surmise that DSWD is doing its part in relief operations, instead of causing more delays. The only way to remedy the situation is to step up, volunteer and be vigilant in ensuring that the entire system of relief operations is working at optimum level to provide for the needy. (AJPress)
( www.asianjournal.com )
( Published October 28, 2009 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. A6 )
