Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian has reported that the emergency cash transfer (ECT) payout for Ilocos Norte has started on Thursday (Aug. 3).

The ECT payout is in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr’s instruction to the DSWD chief to focus on the early recovery and rehabilitation of families and individuals severely affected by Super Typhoon Egay and the enhanced southwest monsoon.

Secretary Gatchalian said the initial salvo is the immediate dispatch of family food packs or FFPs.

“This is in line with the President’s instruction that no resident who is severely-affected by the typhoon will ever go hungry, “ Secretary Gatchalian explained.

But the DSWD chief said President Marcos’ instruction to provide relief goods did not end with the provision of FFPs.

“Part of the President’s instruction is for the DSWD to enable the early recovery and rehabilitation of affected families and individuals through the provision of emergency cash transfer and cash-for-work, which will start soon,” Secretary Gatchalian said when he visited the typhoon-damaged and flood-hit Ilocos Norte last July 29.

DSWD Ilocos Regional Director Marie Angela Gopalan reported to the DSWD chief that Field Office 1 personnel have been working closely with the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) for the spot validation and consolidation of the list of family beneficiaries of the ECT.

“We are dependent on the quality of data submitted by the barangays to the MWSDO (Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office). Numbers do not always match the actual list…so we have to do spot validation,” Director Gopalan told Secretary Gatchalian.

Meanwhile, DSWD Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) Director Leo Quintilla reported to Secretary Gatchalian that the Field Office-CAR will launch the ECT payout in Bontoc, Mountain Province on August 11 for some 385 beneficiaries.

The DSWD secretary earlier ordered the regional directors to fast-track the preparations for the rollout of the ECT program in the northern provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, Apayao, Mountain Province and Cagayan as well as in the municipality of Sablayan in Occidental Mindoro.

“Plot out the schedule of the payout… I want to have payout activities in batches,” Secretary Gatchalian told the concerned regional directors.

Aside from the ECT program, the DSWD chief said there is also the cash-for-work (CFW) that can run for 30-45 days and will provide alternative livelihood to typhoon-affected residents as part of their early recovery and rehabilitation after the calamity.

“We expect that cash-for-work program to be available soon pending the local government units’ (LGUs) identification of beneficiaries and verification by the DSWD Field Office,” Secretary Gatchalian said.#