The national government will allocate more than P1.4 billion for recovery intervention programs for the families affected by the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses in November last year, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) disclosed Tuesday, Jan. 12.
DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao said together with Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), the agency will earmark such substantial amount to assist the victims of Ulysses.
She said of the amount, more than P998 million will be used for the implementation of the Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA) and more than P357 million for Cash-for-Work (CFW).
“Kasama ang Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, ang Departamento ay maglalaan ng mahigit P1.4 billion para early recovery interventions upang matulungan ang mga pamilyang nasira ang mga kabahayan dahil sa nagdaang Bagyong Ulysses,” Dumlao said in a radio interview. (Together with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, the Department will allocate more than P1.4 billion for the early recovery interventions to help the families whose homes were damaged by the Typhoon Ulysses.)
Based on the agency’s latest monitoring report, around 209, 528 houses were damaged in the seven affected regions, which include the National Capital Region (NCR), Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, Bicol and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
Of the damaged houses, around 26,444 were totally damaged and 183,084 were partially damaged.
Dumlao said based on their latest monitoring report, as of 6 p.m., January 12, more than 5,000 families or over 20,000 persons remain in 145 evacuation centers in Cagayan Valley, CALABARZON, Bicol and NCR.
"Patuloy ang pakikipag-ugnayan ng Kagawaran sa mga concerned LGUs upang patuloy na matugunan ang mga pangangailangan ng kanilang mga apektadong nasasakupan at kung maari na silang makabalik sa kanilang mga tahanan,” she said.
(The agency is coordinating with the concerned LGUs to continuously respond to the needs of their affected constituents and to determine whether they can return to their homes.)
Dumlao said Ulysses had affected more than 1.2 million families or over 5.1 million individuals from 7, 287 barangays in Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, Bicol, CAR and Metro Manila.