The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) started the distribution of P9.88 million in cash assistance to families displaced by the recent Kanlaon Volcano eruption through its Emergency Cash Transfer Program on Thursday, May 15.
The ash fall from Kanlaon Volcano’s eruption on Tuesday, May 13, damaged P128,133 in rice crops in barangays Sag-ang and Camandag in La Castellana, an initial report from the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist showed.
The Negros Occidental provincial government and other local governments have sent tankers to provide affected residents with potable water and to clean roads covered with ash fall, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.
They are also providing residents with tarpaulins to mitigate the damage to the roofs of their houses caused by the ash fall, he added.
The DSWD IV said 1,711 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) affected by the latest eruption received cash assistance on Thursday.
It said 1,362 recipients were from La Castellana, 327 from La Carlota City, and 22 from Bago City in Negros Occidental – areas heavily affected by ashfall and sulfuric emissions resulting from the volcanic activity.
The DSWD VI disbursed P5,775 in assistance to each family.
The Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) is a key intervention of DSWD that complements in-kind assistance, DSWD Field Office 6 Regional Director Arwin O. Razo said.
The provision of cash empowers the affected population to decide on their own needs using available resources, he added.
“Even as we continue to provide family food packs, the emergency cash transfer is a crucial form of assistance that will help our displaced families in meeting their specific and urgent needs. With this cash aid, they are given the means to support themselves more effectively as they endure this difficult period,” Razo said.*