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Vice President Sara Duterte leads the distribution of financial assistance under the DSWD’s Emergency Cash Transfer program and the provision of food boxes and other relied items from the Office of the Vice President to the families affected by the oils spill incident in Semirara Island on March 13.
Vice President Sara Duterte leads the distribution of financial assistance under the DSWD’s Emergency Cash Transfer program and the provision of food boxes and other relied items from the Office of the Vice President to the families affected by the oils spill incident in Semirara Island on March 13.

As part of its continuing relief operations, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), through its Field Offices (FO) MIMAROPA and VI, extended financial assistance to the families affected by the oil spill incident in the provinces of Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, and Antique.

In Antique, DSWD FO VI provided some 865 affected families with Emergency Cash Transfers (ECT) worth Php 8,122 per household. Currently, more than Php 7 million in cash aid was disbursed by the Department during the simultaneous payouts conducted on March 13 in Barangays Tinogboc, Semirara, and Alegria in the municipality of Caluya.

The payout of ECT and the provision of food boxes from the Office of the Vice President in Semirara Island were personally led by Vice President Sara Duterte.

In addition, through its Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program, the DSWD-FO MIMAROPA distributed financial aid worth Php 5,000 to some 1,742 affected residents of Barangays Algeciras and Concepcion in Agutaya, Palawan on March 13. Likewise, some 643 beneficiaries from Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro received cash assistance last March 11.

To date, Field Office MIMAROPA distributed more than Php 9.9 million worth of outright cash aid to the affected population in the region.

Cash for work program for the affected

DSWD FO MIMAROPA continues to roll out the Cash-for-Work (CFW) Program in the Municipality of Pola in Oriental Mindoro. Other towns in the province, including Bongabong and Bansud, will commence the program on March 15 as the social preparation is still ongoing.

Meanwhile, Field Office VI is currently implementing the first batch of the CFW program covering 1,435 beneficiaries to help in cleaning up the coast of the islands of Caluya, Antique.

The CFW will be monitored by the Provincial and Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Offices, while the DSWD will facilitate payout every five days. Program participants will receive an amount equivalent to their regional minimum wage.

Food and non-food items provided

Aside from financial aid, the DSWD continues to distribute Family Food Packs (FFPs) and non-food items to the affected localities. Based on the latest report, the FO MIMAROPA provided a total of 21,152 FFPs amounting to Php 14.8 million, while FO VI distributed a total of 6,600 food packs amounting to Php 3.49 million to the affected families.

To date, the DSWD provided more than Php 18.4 million of humanitarian aid to the affected population.

The Department recorded some 31,392 families or 141,988 individuals from 122 barangays in Regions MIMAROPA and VI who have been affected by the incident.

The DSWD continues to coordinate with the affected local government units to ensure that the immediate needs of the affected residents are immediately addressed. ###