DSWD distributes more than P85 million of aid to families affected by floods, rains due to shear line
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has distributed more than P85 million of aid to families affected by floods and rains caused by the shear line.
In a “Handa Briefing”, DSWD spokesperson and Assistant Secretary Rommel Lopez said that they provided cash assistance and relief items to families in the Bicol Region, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region and Caraga.
“For now, we have distributed P85 million worth of assistance, including family food packs, non-food items and over P51 million worth of financial assistance. The cash assistance was given to those whose houses were destroyed, injured individuals, and for those with family members who passed away due to the bad weather,” Lopez said.
Lopez said they have assisted up to 59,487 families or almost 638,897 individuals.
DSWD has served 33,639 individuals inside 160 evacuation centers, he added
Citing reports he received from their field offices, Lopez said there are still major parts of Visayas and Mindanao that need assistance, including Tacloban City, which suspended work and classes in private and public schools.
He said the cash aid under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program was suspended while the budget of DSWD is still being processed.
“Our cash assistance under the (AICS) will temporarily be suspended while our funds are being processed, the budget of the DSWD for the year 2023. This is just initial and we are expecting that it won’t take long,” Lopez told the briefing.
“In spite of this, the DSWD can still process assistance to clients through their service providers. For example, (for) hospital or funeral service, the DSWD can still accept guarantee letters. But again the outright distribution of cash assistance is temporarily suspended because our budget is still being processed. This usually happens at the start of the year in DSWD,” he added.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported Tuesday that around 597,858 individuals or 150,480 families were affected by the floods and rains due to the shear line.
A majority of them were from Caraga with 234,108 individuals or 59,739 families affected.
The death toll stayed at 51, while 19 were still missing, the NDRRMC said.
The validated number of fatalities was 13 while only seven of the missing were validated.
NDRRMC said damage to infrastructure remained at P1,137,605,000.
Crop losses still amounted to P243,029,507.42. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
