• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Around 148,000 farm laborers in Negros Island Region (NIR) are set to receive Emergency Cash Transfer assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) after the agency completes its distribution to sugarcane farmers affected by the red-striped soft scale insect infestation.
DSWD-NIR Director Arwin Razo said the agency has secured an additional P500-million fund and finalized the cash requirement for the next phase of the program, which will cover farm laborers as well as the remaining sugarcane farmers.
Razo said they will first complete the distribution to farmers before shifting its focus to farm workers.
The farm laborers will also receive P10,035 each, based on the applicable minimum wage rates in Negros Occidental for Western Visayas and Negros Oriental for Central Visayas.
“We will finish the farmers first, then we will proceed with the farm laborers,” Razo said.
The DSWD-NIR has a total cash requirement of about P2.3 billion for the rollout.
Of this amount, more than P400 million has already been disbursed to sugarcane farmers.
Razo said another P500 million will be used for the continuing assistance to farm laborers and the remaining sugar farmers, with only a relatively small number of farmer beneficiaries left to be covered before the program shifts primarily to workers.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian earlier announced an indicative P1.9-billion allocation primarily for the NIR to assist around 190,000 small sugar farmers and workers.
The broader cash requirement under the national agricultural assistance program was placed at about P2.325 billion.
The DSWD aims to complete the cash distribution to the affected sugar sector beneficiaries before the end of 2026. | GPB
