Manila, Feb. 27 -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), through its field office in Negros Island Region, is ready to assist families affected by the latest moderate explosive eruption of Mt. Kanlaon on Thursday evening.

Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD's Disaster Response and Management Group (DRMG) said the department has a newly inaugurated mechanized production system at the Visayas Disaster Resource Operations Center (VDRC) in Mandaue City, Cebu which can produce large quantities of family food packs (FFPs) that can easily be dispensed to affected localities in the Negros Island.

"With the mechanized packing system, under extreme cases, we could produce at around 30,000 family food boxes a day. At an...