DSWD to extend cash-for-work to 1,300 Mayon-hit families
DSWD
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Thursday, Jan. 22 said it will provide cash-for-work assistance to 1,323 families affected by the continuing unrest of Mayon Volcano.
DSWD-Disaster Response Management Group Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said the beneficiaries include farmers and fisherfolk whose livelihoods were disrupted by the volcanic activity.
“When we went to Albay a few weeks back with Secretary Rex Gatchalian, we assured that we would provide additional interventions apart from the usual food and non-food items. We will provide financial assistance through the cash-for-work modality, and we hope to start this before the end of January,” Dumlao said in Filipino.
Under the program, beneficiaries will receive financial assistance based on the regional minimum wage multiplied by 30 days, the initial period agreed upon by affected local government units and the DSWD.
Each beneficiary is expected to receive more than P13,000 a month in exchange for community-based work such as planting in vacant areas, tending livestock, and maintaining sanitation facilities in evacuation centers.
In addition to cash-for work, Dumlao said DSWD has so far provided P14.05 million worth of humanitarian assistance, including family food packs distributed to Mayon-affected families and individuals.
She assured the public that sufficient resources are in place to sustain long-term aid.
“We cannot predict how long the unrest of Mt. Mayon will last, but if it continues or worsens, we are ready to provide the necessary augmentation support,” Dumlao said.
She added that the department’s current stockpile stands at around three million family food packs, with about 18,000 more produced daily at the Luzon and Visayas disaster resource centers.
Dumlao also said evacuation centers in Bicol are being well maintained and properly managed by local government units.
Based on the DSWD’s Disaster Response Operations Management, Information and Communication report, Mayon’s continuing activity has affected 14 barangays, displacing 1,530 families or 6,079 individuals.
Dumlao said 12 evacuation centers remain open, sheltering 1,116 families or 4,060 individuals.