More than 1,000 sugarcane farmers in Negros Occidental hit by the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) infestation will receive more than ₱10 million in emergency cash assistance starting Wednesday, July 29.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will launch its pilot Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) payouts in Talisay City and San Carlos City, DSWD Negros Island Region Director Arwin Razo said on Tuesday.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian is scheduled to visit the payout sites in Talisay City and San Carlos City on Wednesday, Razo said.
Razo said more than 600 farmers in Talisay City and 400 in San Carlos City will receive over ₱10,325 each. The amount was computed at 70 percent of the regional minimum wage across 25 days, he said.,
Assistance will be given to farmers with landholdings of five hectares or less.
Razo said that the DSWD relied on data from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) as its primary baseline, which was further validated by local government units alongside SRA representatives.
Validation for the total number of affected farmers to be covered across Negros Occidental—which remains under a state of calamity due to the RSSI outbreak—is still ongoing.
Emergency cash transfers will also be distributed to sugarcane farmers in Negros Oriental as soon as the beneficiary list is finalized and the DSWD receives an official copy of the province’s state of calamity declaration, Razo added.*
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