All relevant government agencies are prepared for the potential impact of Typhoon Pepito as it is expected to hit the Visayas, Bicol and Central Luzon regions this weekend, according to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

“We have everything that we need to have in place. We have very little time left to prepare, but it’s a good thing kahit papaano nasa labas na mga gamit natin. Hindi na natin dadalhin,” President Marcos said in a situation briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Friday.

President Marcos said food packs and search and rescue assets were prepositioned to where they will be needed.

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian assured President Marcos there is enough supply of family food packs (FFPs) for areas to be affected.

Gatchalian said production of family food pack supplies are ongoing while relief operations continue in regions recovering from previous typhoons.

The DSWD continues to produce relief packs from its production hubs in Central Luzon, National Resource Operations Center in Metro Manila, and Visayas Disaster Response Center in Cebu, Gatchalian said.

“We are now in the stage where we preposition, we produce, and we dispatch all at the same time. We produce and respond at the same time, in short,” Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian said DSWD prepositioned 455,815 family food packs in regions I, II, III, V, VIII, Calabarzon, and the Cordillera Administrative Region.

He said 91,079 FFPs are for region I, 18,257 for region II, 56,890 for region III, 52,927 for CAR, 54,927 for Calabarzon, 98,654 in region V, and 83,088 in region VIII.

“Ideally it should’ve been bigger but this should sustain us for the first impact and we’ll keep on augmenting as we go along,” he added.

President Marcos reminded that airlift assets should be available to deliver aid before and after the storm.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. assured air assets are ready and on standby for relief and rescue operations. | PND