The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has a menu of programs and services that are readily available for the fisherfolk affected by the oil spill in Limay, Bataan at the height of Typhoon Carina last week, a program director of the agency said on Thursday (August 1).
Program Management Bureau (PMB) Asst. Director Edwin Morata told reporters at the Thursday Media Forum at the DSWD Central Office’s New Press Center in Quezon City that all affected fishermen and their families may avail of assistance under the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita (AKAP) Program, subject to initial assessment and validation of social workers.
“There’s a need for assessment and validation to look into kung ano pa ang pwedeng maibigay maliban po doon sa pang-araw-araw po na pagtugon sa pangangailangan nila,” Asst. Director Morata said.
The DSWD-PMB assistant director said the AKAP Program is designed to provide a safety net to minimum wage earners to prevent them from falling further below the poverty line.
“Kung may pangangailangan, for example, medikal, pwede po silang pumasok sa medical assistance po natin kasi nakaakibat pa rin po iyon sa AKAP program. If ever po na may namatay, during those period ay maaari po silang mag-avail ng burial assistance. “Hindi po tayo one line of provision lang. As much as possible, we want to consider everything na mayroong pangangailangan ang isang indibidwal,” Director Morata explained.
“Maliban po doon sa cash outright assistance na ibibigay po natin, I think, food box will also be provided if may request pong na-receive from local government units para po maipadala po natin agad sa kanila ang mga ito,” he added.
Under the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., an inter-agency task force was already created to quickly address the effects of the oil spill from the M/T Terra Nova, which is owned by Shogun Ships Company, Inc., that sank off the coast of Limay, Bataan last July 25.
The task force will be led by the Office of the Civil Defense with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and the DSWD. #
