DSWD winds down Yolanda relief repacking work in NCR, beefs up Visayas ops

The Department of Social Welfare and Development will wind down Saturday evening the repacking of relief items for victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in Metro Manila, but will beef up its repacking operations in the Visayas.

In a post on its website, the DSWD said this aims to "speed up dispatching and delivery of relief goods to Eastern Visayas."

"Volunteer activities in these hubs will end (on) November 30 (Saturday), at 6 p.m.," it said .

"DSWD thanks all volunteers who went to NROC and other relief hubs to help in the repacking," it added.

However, it clarified it will continue to process evacuees arriving in Metro Manila.

To be discontinued are repacking centers at:

- National Resource Operations Center (NROC)
- Villamor Air Base in Pasay City
- Cargohaus in Parañaque City
- Mactan Airbase in Cebu City

Meanwhile, repacking activities in the hubs in Samar and Leyte will be bolstered. The repacking centers there include:

- Tacloban City
- Leyte
- Catbalogan City, Samar.

Another repacking site is being set up in Isabel, Leyte.

The DSWD added hubs in Guiuan, Eastern Samar and Ormoc City, Leyte will serve as drop-off points of packed goods.

It also said it will send additional personnel to reinforce the manpower in these hubs from the neighboring DSWD field offices and the central office.

Meanwhile, the DSWD said it will continue to process evacuees arriving in Metro Manila at the Villamor Air Base.

"Only the repacking will be stopped," it said.

Yolanda had devastated Visayas and Southern Luzon last Nov. 8, leaving behind more than 5,500 dead. — LBG, GMA News