Some 574 families or 2,793 persons from Surigao del Sur affected by the civil unrest in the province continue to receive the converged services of concerned government agencies, non-government organizations (NGOs), and the local government unit (LGU).
The government and NGOs continue to ensure the safety and well-being of those who are still staying at the three evacuation centers as the civil unrest in the province is being resolved.
To date, close to P7.5 million worth of relief assistance has been provided to the displaced families from the combined resources of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) with P2.7 million, P2.1 million from other government agencies and private individuals/institutions, P1.5 million from NGOs, and P1.1 million from the LGU.
The DSWD reiterated it has enough relief supplies to augment the resources of the LGU of Surigao del Sur for the evacuees.
To maintain hygiene in the evacuation centers, additional latrines were constructed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and are now being used by the evacuees inside the SDS Sports Center in Tandag City.
On the other hand, a consultation dialogue with 27 community leaders was conducted by the DSWD-Field Office CARAGA to enable the evacuees to avail of the Cash-for-Work (CFW) and Food-for-Work (FFW) programs while at the evacuation center.
Qualified evacuees will render CFW and FFW activities such as declogging and making of canals, gravelling, weeding, and grass cutting. The Field Office and the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office are now preparing the proposal for the CFW and FFW.
The DSWD Field Office is also consolidating the list of children-evacuees who will be granted college scholarship by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and other agencies.
Social workers from the DSWD-Field Office and from the LGU hold continuous dialogue with community leaders to determine how the evacuees can be further assisted. ###