Each family affected by typhoon "Odette" will receive a maximum amount of P5,000 from the national government as form of "ayuda" (assistance), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said.

Año said the intended beneficiaries are low income families and those severely affected by the weather disturbance. Each individual member of a family will receive P1,000 but the assistance per family will not exceed P5,000.

To ensure that only the qualified beneficiaries get the ayuda, Año ordered the local government units (LGUs) to post on social media or conspicuous places the list of eligible recipients prior to the distribution.

He noted that the LGUs have 15 days to complete the payout and will have to form a grievance and appeals committee to act on all the complaints regarding the cash assistance.

If the need arises, Año stated that the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will be tapped to provide additional manpower to ensure the orderly ayuda distribution process.

On Jan. 3, Año disclosed that the fund for the ayuda were released to the concerned LGUs with the DILG having conducted on how the payout will be handled more efficiently as these are sorely needed by the affected families.

“Malaki pong halaga ang ating idi-distribute. Ang total po ay P4.85 billion. Bukod pa po ito sa mga ibinigay nating assistance sa pag-repair ng kanilang mga bahay. Ito po ay cash assistance lamang. Bukod pa rin ito sa mga food packs na ipinamimigay ng ating DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) (We are going to distribute a huge amount. The total is P4.85 billion. This is aside from the assistance we gave for the repair of their houses. This is only a cash assistance. This is also aside from the food packs distributed by the DSWD),’’ Año explained.

With six regions severely devastated by typhoon Odette, Año said that 27 provinces, cities and municipalities were affected with Palawan being hardest hit getting P195 million cash aid.

In Region VI, Año revealed that P1.6 billion monetary aid was given to 134 cities and municipalities with Negros Occidental getting the lion’s share of P1.059 billion.

A total of 109 cities and municipalities in Region VII were affected by the typhoon with Negros Oriental receiving P475 million and Cebu province getting P458 million.

The DILG chief reported that 64 cities and towns in Region VIII were also benefited from the payout with Southern Leyte being allotted P409 million cash assistance.

In Region X, Año said that five provinces comprising 57 cities and municipalities were the recipients of the government’s assistance with Misamis Mroental getting the highest amount of P99 million.

“At ito naman po ang CARAGA or Region XIII na nagco-cover sa 71 cities and municipalities that were severely affected. Ang Surigao Provinces, Del Sur and Del Norte, ang mataas na makakakuha ng allocation at P233 million and P213 million, respectively (And here in CARAGA or Region XIII covering 27 cities and municipalities that were severely affected Surigao Provinces, Del Sur and Del Norte were given the most allocation of P233 million and P213 million respectively),’’ he added.

Dinagat Island received P133 million since it has a comparatively smaller population compared to the other provinces in Region XIII. (Chito A. Chavez)