The assistance for residents in La Castellana, Negros Occidental, whose houses were destroyed and damaged during recent typhoons, will not come from the P10 million allocated by Malacañang for the town, Mayor Añejo Nicor clarified on Wednesday, Dec. 3.
“I want to make this very clear, especially to the affected families, because some may have misunderstood that the ₱10,000 and ₱5,000 assistance for totally and partially damaged houses will come from the ₱10 million,” he said.
The ₱10,000 and ₱5,000 assistance will come from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the names of those affected have already been listed in their database, he said.
“So let us all wait patiently because that assistance is already intended for you,” Nicor said.
He said that until now, they have not been able to use the P10 million assistance from the Palace because they have to follow the required process.
The proposed use of the P10 million is pending with the Sangguniang Bayan (SB) for approval, after which it will be sent to the Office of the President (OP) for confirmation, Nicor said.
He said the use of the P10 million will be based on the recommendations of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and the Incident Management Team.
An SB resolution clearly stating how the P10M will be used must be sent to Malacañang, he said.
Nicor also said relocation sites will be provided to residents who cannot rebuild their typhoon-destroyed homes in no-build zones along riverbanks.
“We ask for your patience and understanding of our situation. Your mayor and the whole team are staying up, working day and night, looking for ways to help the town recover quickly,” was Nicor’s message to his constituents.*