I just want to share my experience at the DSWD to shed some light into the DSWD controversy because I had enough of the online speculation and just wanted to go there and see it for myself and volunteer to help.
When I got there I looked for Miss Fabian who’s managing the warehouse for DSWD. She informed me that they no longer need volunteers for the weekend because they have too many. So I asked about UNICEF and they exclaimed that I could help there. UNICEF needs volunteers.
So I met with Ensha of UNICEF, some volunteers from Don Bosco and Jordan, a volunteer from Boston. We were about 15. After about an hour, my fellow volunteers from Red Cross, including Geraldine Repollo, who’s managing Rizal chapter, followed and relieved the students from Don Bosco. We were still about 15.
There are 5 (if my memory doesn’t fail me this time) huge warehouses. 1 warehouse housed the goods from UNICEF. The rest housed rice and other food stuff. The UNICEF goods are packed as starter packs for those families who have been relocated due to the floods. A starter pack consists of cooking pot stuffed with towels, bath soap, laundry detergent, water jug stuffed with 4 blankets, 2 plastic mats. These are then picked up by trucks and supposed to be delivered to the relocation centers. The rest of the warehouses pack food and snack packs, as far as I know because I did not actually pack one. Distribution is centralized through DSWD.
Those are the facts as I’ve seen them.
The blog that started it all, after checking the posted pics and what I actually saw, referred to the UNICEF warehouse. Is there corruption? I don’t think there is. At least not at the warehouse packing stages. Ensha and the volunteers seem intent only on the job at hand. (Bless you guys!)Security seems strict and I see no signs of pilferage. I’m not sure what happens after the goods leave the warehouse. I just hope they get to their supposed destinations. Someone needs to check on that.
Is there intentional hoarding? I don’t think there is either.
Goods are just moving slow. I posit 2 reasons:
1. There are not enough volunteers. Ms. Fabian says that on weekdays they only get around 40 volunteers. When I came there, there were not more than 15 working on a Saturday even when I posted on my FB page with my 1800 “FB friends”, several FB groups totaling around 400 members, twittered it, and SMSed to 20 buddies. 15/2000 is not a good ratio. Gang, I hope you are more successful. No volunteers.
2. Limits set by the management. When I was told that DSWD is no longer accepting volunteers for the weekend because there were already a lot of volunteers from UPS. I don’t have the exact count but I saw several hundreds. However, after 2 hours of work, I noticed that the other warehouses were empty. I strongly think the 5 huge warehouses could accomodate and harness at least 1000 per warehouse. When we were repacking at Red Cross Rizal in a 40sqm room, we had 600 volunteers at some points and managed to release 1000-2000 packs per mission and we ran several missions per day. The DSWD warehouses should be able to improve their output. They could run 24/7 on continous shifts when volunteers and managers (from DSWD, UNICEF, or volunteers) running the packing lines. In business, we call this a good problem. It is a scale problem.
My recommendations:
- Train more packing line managers from staff and volunteers.
- Run the lines as a 24/7 operation with your trained line managers.
- Make the schedules public. Use social media, the internet, radio, whatever. (I know of some who volunteered but returned home when they were told they need no more volunteers. If I, myself, [emphasis mine] did not ask for UNICEF, the peeps at the DSWD office wouldn’t have volunteered the info. Clearly, we have communication problem here.)
- Get more volunteers.
Those are my recommendations to the people in charge of the warehouses.
To the rest of you readers, stop reading, stop speculating about corruption and criticizing from your comfortable chairs and fast broadband, stop making those stupid farmville whatever, stop waging virtual mafia wars, get out, volunteer and get ready to sweat it out.
I’ll post pics and videos when I get home. Now massage.
October 24, 2009 at 4:20 pm |
[...] Deviliscious’ Blog, this entry which ties all of the above together, worth quoting extensively: I just want to share [...]
October 24, 2009 at 11:45 pm |
“Massage”? With Ella?
October 25, 2009 at 11:55 pm |
@Carl haha funny
October 25, 2009 at 12:44 am |
have you also tried getting photos and data (from ABS-CBN, GMA, Philippine Red Cross, etc.)? warehouses? I think it would have been a better “journalistic” story if you also did a comparative study on all the organizations doing relief efforts. That way, you can compare how many volunteers, how good are delivered, where to, etc. With the way you presented your story, you were downplaying the DSWD, when in fact you could have taken the issue intelligently by doing that study.
October 26, 2009 at 12:02 am |
Hi Anna, I understand what you are trying to do but I wasn’t there to do investigative journalism. I just wanted to help. I was doing that with Red Cross Rizal chapter at the height of Ondoy doing rescue and relief. I started a FaceBook group (The Love Train) to encourage and coordinate the ferrying of goods up north when Pepeng devastated that area. I was finding it harder and harder to get vehicles, people and goods. That’s why when I read the blog, like everyone, my first reaction was anger. But then my second reaction (if there is such an expression) is to head there and help them since my purpose is to get the relief goods to wherever they are needed.
If you are still concerned about the issue of relief goods moving slowly, I invite you to volunteer and help move it. When can you help?
October 25, 2009 at 3:25 am |
[...] Devilicious’ Been there done that DSWD! [...]
October 25, 2009 at 5:11 pm |
[...] take time to read Been there done that DSWD! in Deviliscious’s Blog, which clarifies the issues quite thoroughly, and deserves being quoted at [...]
October 25, 2009 at 8:14 pm |
why not do it yourself anna? this guy is already doing his share helping out DSWD aside from just blogging about it to shed light. besides the person already stated that there is no corruption, but only inefficiency. and it is only right to point that thing out for improvement.
ang hirap kasi sa inyo, masyado kayong emotional. ayaw nyo ng napupuna. is that the way public servants handle feedbacks? ano ba ang nagagawa mo ha? tumatanggap lang ng grasya ng donasyon from us here abroad? gumalaw ka naman kesa puro ka dakdak dyan. nagre-repack na mga tao sa DSWD warehouse, pero eto ka pa rin nagpapasikat sa paulit-ulit mong comments sa lahat ng blogs.
October 26, 2009 at 1:58 am |
[...] want to help with UNICEF, then they’re allowed in -to the same compound. Please take time to read Been there done that DSWD! in Deviliscious’s Blog, which clarifies the issues quite thoroughly, and deserves being quoted at [...]
October 26, 2009 at 9:30 am |
Non-Governmental Organizations vs Government Institutions (ie: DSWD)
-In terms of corruption?
-In terms of efficiency?
-In terms of results?
-In terms of management?
-In terms of transparency?
-In terms of accountability?
etc, etc…
who serves the country better?
Government institutions should have serve the people better, more than the non-governmental organizations and individuals. but sad to say it is not… truth hurts. As long as the government do not meet or deliver the expected standards as far as public service is concern, you cannot stop the people from clamoring.
October 26, 2009 at 10:48 am |
There are lots of things that we find wanting in the government. Lots of things that needs to be improved. Lots of things that they are supposed to do but are not doing it or are doing a bad job at it.
But there are also lots of things that we citizens can do besides demanding it. If we can, when we can, we can do our part to supplement or complement what to government can do.
The choice is up to each one of us.
October 26, 2009 at 5:00 pm |
agree ako dyan deviliscious kaya nga i hope this message i posted to mlq3 also got posted here.
Marami po akong kaibigan working at dswd. meron sa central at sa regional offices, di po matatawaran ang dedikasyon ng mga manggagawang ito. they work beyond and above the call of duty. para sa bayan ika nga. sa lahat po ng blogs at sa mga sagot ng mga officials ng dswd makikita na maraming pagkukulang ang lahat ng panig. sa dswd, dahil ni napaghandaan ang pangangailangan sa maraming volunteers. at sa mga taong me spare time dahil di naisip mag volunteer sa dswd. mas masaya po talaga sa kapuso at abs-cbn kasi dami artista nasa tv ka pa. sa dswd sa channel 4 ka lang pwedeng makita kung makikita ka nga.
anyways much have been said at tama po sina gang badoy. action po ang kelangan sa panahong ito. tama na po ang dada although guaranteed po sa consitution ang freedom na magsalita. sana po tigilan na po natin ang mga batuhan ng paratang at insultuhan na wala naman patutunguhan.
kung gusto nating matiyak na di iuuwi ng mga taga dswd ang mga relif goods, sama mo tayo sa pag rerepack hanggang pagdadala nito sa mga nasalanta at pagpapamigay. sundan po natin hanggang makauwi ang mga evacuees kung me tulong pa ba mula sa dswd at kung talagang tutulungan ng dswd na makabangon ang mga nasalanta. kung may makita mo tayong naagrabyado sa pagsubaybay natin sa dswd. mag ingay po tayo uli. kasama na po nyo ko dun.
DSWD has been here for a long time now at sabi nga po ng frend ko dun inugatan na karamihan ng officials nila. di naman na po siguro matatawaran ang dami ng napagsilbihan ng dswd. wala nga lang silang sariling dyaryo tv o radio station para palaging ipagsabi ang nagagawa nila. sabi ko nga po kung gumagawa ng tama ang dswd natural lang yung trabaho nila yun eh. pero di naman po siguro fair na murahin sila bilang dswd.
sana po matapos na itong batuhan ng alegasyon at tarayan at sana po di naman matakot mag padala ng relief goods ang ibang gustong tumulong sa atin. pag nagkataon po tayo rin ang humukay sa paglilibingan sa atin.
sabi nga po ng nabasa ko, we should expect more disasters, (manmade and natural) na mas mapamuksa pa dahil nga sa global warming. prayer has been and will always be effective. pero dapat po handa rin tayo.
October 27, 2009 at 8:34 am |
UNICEF Philippines have a facebook account if you go to the notes tab at the side bar dated October 16,2009 there have been an announcement of a need of UNICEF volunteers to help pack goods at DSWD. So probably if don’t see volunteers in the UNICEF warehouse you can see where are the volunteers are in the UNICEF’s facebook.
=>http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=150926093457
October 28, 2009 at 3:29 pm |
Good Blog!…its true instead of endlessly commenting and speculating…-people should go out there and help out. Too many “Brains” not enough “Brawns”! GK-ANCOP Australia still has goods waiting to be sent (im sure other Organisations are in the same boat)..but because they said that the warehouse is full – we can’t do anything but wait!
It seems DSWD workers are flat out – they need help and they should ask for it – people VOLUNTEER!