WITH 274 affirmative votes, the House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on third and final reading a bill providing for the establishment of disaster food banks and stockpiles throughout the country to speed up the delivery of relief goods and other supplies during calamities.

House Bill (HB) No. 8463 calls for the setting up and construction of a Disaster Food Bank and Stockpile in every province and highly urbanized city in the country, providing for their maintenance and appropriating funds for their operation.

Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, leader of the 312-member House of Representatives, said the proposal stemmed from the fact that 20 typhoons visit the country every year.

Some of the principal authors are Michael Morden, Kristine Alexie Tutor, Ivan Howard Guinto, Alan 1 Ecleo, Bryan Revilla, Dale Corvera, and Manuel Jose Dalipe.

He said such response can be institutionalized through the establishment of strategic food banks and stockpiles all over the country.

“A single life we can save through the timely delivery of medicine, food and critical items in the event of a calamity is worth more than the effort and money that will go into setting up these food and supply reserves,” the House leader stressed.

HB 8463 is a consolidation of three related measures authored by Representatives Michael Morden of API Party-list, Ivan Howard Guinto of PINUNO Party-list and Alan Ecleo of Dinagat Islands.

It was endorsed by the committee on disaster resilience and the committee on appropriations.

Under the bill, the disaster food bank and stockpile shall serve as the central repository of food, water, medicines, vaccines, antidotes, and other critical medical products, medical kits, potable power and light source, clothing, tents, and communication devices.

The shelf life of these items should at least two years.

The establishment of the stockpile shall be an inter-agency effort, to be led by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and with the participation of the departments of public works and highways, trade and industry, agriculture, science and technology, and local government.

The bill mandates the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to build calamity-proof warehouses where the food and supply stockpiles would be stored.

The NDRRMC, DSWD and other concerned agencies shall make sure that the reserves are regularly monitored and replenished.

In the event of a calamity, the NDRRMC and DSWD shall initiate the use and deployment of the stockpiles. In case a calamity can be reasonably predicted, the NDRRMC shall preposition supplies in the areas to be affected.