The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has already completed its disaster response efforts by extending more than Php870 million worth of humanitarian aid to disaster-affected families in the provinces of Sarangani and Surigao del Sur in Mindanao and Northern Samar in the Visayas.
In Sarangani province, families affected by the November 2023 magnitude 6.8 earthquake have been provided by the DSWD SOCCSKSARGEN Field Office (Region12) with humanitarian assistance amounting to Php145 million, of which Php113 million is in the form of cash aid to 13,583 individuals while the rest were family food packs (36,110 boxes) and 3,825 non-food items.
In Surigao del Sur, the families displaced by the December 2023 magnitude 7.4 earthquake received Php184 million worth of aid from the DSWD Caraga Field Office (Region 13) that included Php70 million in cash aid, 168,772 boxes of food packs and 37 non-food items for some 6,691 beneficiaries.
In Northern Samar, the DSWD Eastern Visayas Field Office (Region 8) provided over Php540 million worth of humanitarian aid to families affected by the shear line and low pressure area that hit the Visayas region last November 2023.
The DSWD assistance to some 130,082 affected families consisted of and financial aid worth more than Php394 million, 215,829 boxes of food packs, and 76 non-food items.
DSWD Asst. Secretary for Strategic Communications Romel Lopez, who is also the agency spokesperson said the total financial assistance rendered by the Mindanao and Visayas field offices amounted to Php578 million under the Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) and Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) benefitting some150,356 disaster-affected families.
The ECT is an adaptive strategy for bridging the gaps between immediate disaster relief, humanitarian response, and early recovery support through outright cash aid for disaster-affected families in areas under a state of calamity.
The AICS serves as a social safety net or a stop-gap mechanism to support the recovery of individuals and families from unexpected crises such as illness or death of a family member, natural and man-made disasters, and other crisis situations.
Asst. Secretary Lopez said the DSWD’s response efforts in the disaster-hit regions in Visayas and Mindanao started in the fourth quarter of 2023.
“We assure the public that while our Field Office personnel have already concluded their response efforts in the disaster-struck localities, they will continue to work closely with concerned local government units to ensure the continuous recovery of the affected families,” the DSWD spokesperson said.
