The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will deliver emergency cash assistance to small farmers whose sugar farms have been infested by red-striped small-scale insects in Negros Island.
A maximum of ₱10,000 will be given to each severely affected farmer, Regional Director Arwin Razo of the DSWD Negros Island Region said on Thursday, July 23.
Razo met with Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson on instructions from DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian to discuss the assistance following Negros Occidental’s declaration of a state of calamity.
The distribution will start as early as next week, Razo said.
The agency will source data on the extent of the damage from local government units and the Sugar Regulatory Administration, which will then be validated. The final amount distributed will depend on the validated list of affected small farmers.
To qualify, farmers must be listed in the Department of Agriculture’s official registry.
“The timeline, based on the instructions by my secretary, is that we have to do it at the soonest possible time. So hopefully, while we are currently piloting the UPLIFT (Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, and Transport) assistance, we can also begin initial distributions within the month of July,” Razo said.*
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