The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is set to provide cash subsidy to the families affected by Typhoon ‘Odette’ in 2021, whose houses were totally damaged, through the Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA).

The ESA is a program of the DSWD which aims to assist disaster-affected families with damaged houses by giving financial assistance to support their immediate recovery, particularly, in the repair and reconstruction of their houses that were devastated by a typhoon.

The list of eligible beneficiaries to receive the assistance was identified and prepared by the concerned local government Units (LGUs) and was verified and validated by its respective DSWD Field Offices.

The DSWD will facilitate and implement the provision of ESA in Regions VI, VIII, X, and CARAGA. These are four of the six regions included in the declaration of State of Calamity by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 1267, series of 2021.

Household-beneficiaries will receive Php 10,000 each from the DSWD, with the support and assistance of the LGUs, which will schedule the distribution of cash payouts.

Meanwhile, households with totally damaged houses situated in the remaining two regions, namely MIMAROPA and Region VII, shall also receive cash assistance through the Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP) of the National Housing Authority (NHA). Households included in the list of ESA beneficiaries, who already received Php 5,000 from NHA’s EHAP, will receive an additional amount of Php 5,000 from the DSWD to complete the rate of assistance from the government.

To receive the cash assistance, the head of the family must present an accomplished Disaster Assistance Family Access Card (DAFAC) Form together with any valid ID. A barangay certification may be admissible as an identifying document in the absence of any valid ID, subject for confirmation of the Barangay Captain and the City/Municipal Social Welfare Development Officer.

The DSWD enjoined the public, especially those who are included in the list of beneficiaries, to contact or coordinate with your LGU for more information about the distribution of ESA. ###