• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has distributed P68,572,529 worth of humanitarian assistance to 325,469 families affected by El Niño phenomenon in Western Visayas as of May 7.
Recipients include 1,213,740 persons in 2,360 barangays in the provinces of Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, Antique and Guimaras.
Negros Occidental got the bulk of assistance worth P23,688,363; Antique – P20,681,907; Iloilo – P11,709,965; Aklan – P6,881,610; Capiz – P1,202,985; and Guimaras – P665,000, a report from the DSWD Region 6 said.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) in Negros Occidental is hastening the validation of the list of families affected by the El Niño phenomenon.
PSWD officer Chiqui Gonzalez said they are presently validating and assessing the documents of the beneficiaries.
The provincial government has allocated P10 million assistance to farmers affected by the drought in Negros Occidental.
Eligible beneficiaries will receive P2,000 each.
Gonzales said farmers in Cauayan, Hinoba-an, Isabela, San Enrique and Ilog will be the first to benefit from the cash assistance once the validation process is finished. | GB
