Local government units (LGUs) under Enhanced Community Quarantine in Region VI have already started the distribution of special cash aid under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) after the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), through its Field Office VI, has downloaded the funds to them.
DSWD FO VI released more than P2.6 billion funds to cover some 600,000 families in the Iloilo Province including Iloilo City.
Individuals and families affected by the localized ECQ in the towns of Anilao, Mina, Tubungan, Miag-ao, Pavia, Zarraga, New Lucena, Mina, Pototan, Maasin, Bingawan, Barotac Nuevo, and Dingle in Iloilo Province have received their financial assistance as the LGUs started the conduct of special AICS distribution on July 31. Other LGUs in the province will announce the final schedule for payouts to their qualified constituents.
Meanwhile, qualified beneficiaries in Cagayan de Oro City and Gingoog City are set to receive their financial assistance as DSWD FO X already facilitated the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on August 3 with the concerned LGUs.
DSWD Undersecretary for Disaster Response, Felicisimo Budiongan, who represented Secretary Rolando Bautista during the MOA signing, expressed his gratitude to the LGUs in efficiently helping the Department to provide the needed assistance to affected residents.
“Through this agreement, the Department is assured that the needed assistance will be delivered to eligible beneficiaries while abiding by the specific provisions contained in the guidelines set forth,” Undersecretary Budiongan said.
DSWD FO X released over P978.8 million funds to cover some 191,956 families in Cagayan de Oro City and 53,000 families in Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental.
Moreover, as part of its preparation for the implementation of Special AICS, FO X conducted a virtual conference on July 26 and 28 with its partner-agencies such as the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Department of the Interior and Local Government – Region X (DILG), and the concerned LGUs to discuss the guidelines, process flow, and the roles and responsibilities of the national agencies and LGUs in the distribution of aid.
Through the special AICS, affected families and individuals who are suffering from the economic disruption due to the declaration of a localized ECQ in their areas will receive P1,000 cash assistance for each member with a maximum amount of P4,000 per family, based on the Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 2, Series of 2021. The JMC was signed on July 25 by the DSWD, DILG, and Department of National Defense.
The special cash assistance serves as an additional support on top of the provision of Family Food Packs (FFPs) for families and individuals living in areas under ECQ.
As of August 3, FO VI has distributed over 54,000 FFPs for the whole Iloilo Province while FO X has delivered more than 29,344 FFPs and 10,000 FFPs to Gingoog City and Cagayan de Oro City, respectively.
The DSWD is committed to provide assistance to families to help them cope with the economic effects of the pandemic.
