The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) continues to extend assistance to families affected by the oil spill caused by the sunken motor tanker (MT) Princess Empress in Oriental Mindoro last February.
Based on the latest report of the DSWD Disaster Response Management Bureau (DRMB), the Department has already provided more than Php430 million worth of humanitarian assistance to affected families in the provinces of Batangas, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan and Antique.
The aid includes 183,499 family food packs (FFPs) worth more than Php125 million and non-food items amounting to Php185,150. These items were sent as augmentation support to the affected local government units (LGUs).
In terms of cash assistance, some 21,046 beneficiaries in Oriental Mindoro, Palawan and Antique received financial aid under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program.
The DSWD also provided Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) to 11,471 beneficiaries in the same oil spill-affected areas.
The ECT is an “adaptive strategy in bridging the gaps between immediate disaster relief, humanitarian response and early recovery support through the provision of unconditional cash to victims of disasters and emergency situations requiring interventions.”
Aside from outright cash, the DSWD also facilitated the temporary livelihood for affected residents, through its Cash-For-Work (CFW) program that benefitted 21,933 individuals in the provinces of Batangas, Oriental Mindoro and Antique.
The CFW beneficiaries participate in various activities such as collecting locally available materials for making improvised oil spill boom and absorbent; establishing barangay or backyard gardens; mangrove rehabilitation and conducting community clean-up drives.
Some beneficiaries also assist in the loading and unloading of family food packs.
In line with the directive of DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, the DSWD will continue to ensure the delivery of resources to sustain its ongoing disaster response operations in the three affected regions. #
