DSWD-7 rolls out more than P6-M financial assistance for ROFs, LSIs in C.Visayas

CEBU CITY -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office VII has rolled out a total of P6,097,500 in financial assistance to 3,214 individuals and about P813,200.89 in hot meals and non-food items, such as hygiene kits to 7,535 individuals, as of July this year.

According to DSWD-7 regional information officer Leah Quintana, most of the assistance went to returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) and locally stranded individuals (LSIs), who arrived from Metro Manila.

Quintana said that it was part of the “Hatid Tulong” program using a whole-of-government approach to address the needs of the LSIs and ROFs who have been affected by the community quarantine measures imposed amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

“It is a transport assistance initiative by various national government agencies that included the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine recruitment agencies, Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), among others, to help ROFs and LSIs as they return to their respective provinces,” Quintana added.

Quintana bared that DSWD-7 deployed social workers at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport and in Pier 1 in Cebu City to assist the ROFs and LSIs, who were provided with hot meals and cash assistance.

The agency also distributed flyers and provided brief orientation on Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale Tool to check the mental health status of the ROFs and LSIs.

Quintana added that social workers also checked passports and other pertinent documents of passengers especially those with minors as a standard operating procedure (SOP) to prevent child trafficking.

Proper coordination with the local government units (LGUs) of Cebu City, and the Cebu provincial government were done to enable the LGUs to prepare for the transportation, screening and quarantine measures of the arriving ROFs and LSIs.