DSWD warns vs food pack tampering

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development yesterday warned against “tampering” with the DSWD’s family food packs, which are distributed to calamity victims.

Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian made the warning amid complaints that food packs were repacked by local government officials.

“The DSWD stands firm that we do not allow repacking. We are looking at the veracity of the complaints received through email and other complaints that may arise,” Gatchalian said.

He noted that the cases are “isolated” and an internal investigation committee is looking into the matter.

Tampering of family food packs is a criminal act, Gatchalian maintained.

“This includes opening the contents to redistribute them in smaller quantities to affected families, or replacing the DSWD goods with inferior or lesser quality items,” he noted.

A family food pack contains six kilos of rice, four canned tuna, two canned sardines, four corned beef, five sachets of instant coffee and five sachets of cereal drinks.