There is no misrepresentation in the repacking of relief goods from foreign donors.

CEBU, Philippines - There is no misrepresentation in the repacking of relief goods from foreign donors.

This was the explanation of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-7 during a press conference yesterday to answer issues raised on the repacking of relief goods donated by other countries.

Cherrey Mae Pancho Bartolata, who volunteered at the Mactan Benito Ebuen Airbase, wrote in her Facebook account that donations from Indonesia were allegedly repacked and relabeled with “DSWD” and “NFA” (National Food Authority). Bartolata said the alleged process slowed down the distribution of relief goods, which have been pre-packed.

Bartolata’s post became viral and angered a number of netizens.

DSWD- 7 Regional Director Mercedita Jabagat denied that the government agency removed the labels of foreign donations, as what is being circulated in social media.

“Like relief goods from Indonesia, they gave ready to eat food placed in a bag with a zipper. Contrary to the allegation, wala namo gitangtang ang potos, gisud lang kini sa DSWD nga plastic bag…wala mausab ang nawong sa gi-donate,” she said, adding that if the recipient will open the DSWD plastic bag, they can easily recognize that the said goods came from a foreign donor.

Placing the already packed relief goods into a DSWD plastic bag is for easy accounting, Jabagat said.

Lawyer Mae Elaine Bathan, president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Cebu City Chapter told The FREEMAN that the re-packing of goods is not necessary if these were already pre-packed and ready for distribution. She said repacking is a waste of time and a waste of resources. Bathan added that if there is a misrepresentation, a certain individual or agency should be made accountable.

According to the procedural guidelines for offers of international assistance issued by the government for countries who want to donate to victims of super typhoon Yolanda, all in-kind donations are administered by and coursed through the DSWD.

Jabagat said relief goods from foreign donors are subject to re-checking even if these are already pre-packed because some food packs are not complete and some food packs contained bottles. The re-checking is also done to make sure that the goods are fit for human consumption and are not expired.

“Like sa Indonesia, gikuha ang botelya sa ketchup because naay chances nga mabuak kay ilabay-ilabay unya…likayan nato nga ma-damage,” she said, adding they already informed Secretary to the Cabinet Jose Rene Almendras about it.

Jabagat assured that all the relief goods received by their office from international donors were duly acknowledged.

DSWD assistant regional director for operations Nemia Antipala also explained that all relief goods coursed through their office is subject for classification. She said the goods that were being distributed were in standard food packs.

Antipala corroborated the statement of Jabagat that not all packed relief goods from foreign countries were complete.

“No country donates a complete food pack. We paired an equal amount of it,” she added.

Likewise, Antipala appealed to the people to stop criticizing them because they are doing the best they can to attend to the needs of the victims of the typhoon.

“If I have to measure what we’ve done…we already lost our voices, from earthquake up to today we are here. We left our family to help these people. So please stop questioning our sincerity and dedication. You’ll never know how we work,” she said, while at the same time admitting that their system of distributing relief goods is not perfect but they are willing to accept suggestions to improve it.

The misrepresentation of sources of relief goods, equipment and other aid commodities is punishable under Republic Act 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010.

The repacking of goods and others into containers with different markings to make it appear that the goods came from another agency or persons is also prohibited under the said law.

Those found guilty of violating the law face imprisonment of six to 12 years, a fine of not less than P50,000 but not more than P500,000 or both, at the discretion of the court.-/QSB (FREEMAN)