The Department of Social Welfare and Development Regional Office VI and local government of Himamaylan partnered to bring aid to families affected by the ongoing drought in this southern Negros Occidental city.
Through the Office of City Mayor Raymund Tongson and the City SWD Office, food packs were distributed April 18 to hard-hit communities in barangays III Poblacion, IV Poblacion, Cabadiangan, Cabanbanan, Carabalan, Caradio-an, Libacao, Mahalang, Mambagaton, Nabali-an, Su-ay, To-oy, Buenavista, Talaban, and San Antonio, as identified by the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
A total of 377 families received food aid from the DSWD. Free arroz caldo was also served to the families during the aid distribution, courtesy of the City Mayor’s Office.
Tongson earlier said the city government will utilize its P23 million savings from the calamity fund last year to help Himamaylan’s drought-stricken farmers.
“We are tapping all financial sources and partnerships in order to help our farmers and Himamaylanons, who are gravely affected by El Niño,” the mayor said in a press release.
He said the savings will be used to put up infrastructure projects and extend livelihood assistance to affected farmers.
The mayor said the city will also purchase a water filtration truck, similar to the vehicle they rented from the provincial government.
As of April 12, a total of 114,000 liters of clean water had been distributed to families from affected barangays, through the routine MRTubig program.
As the city government rolls out various programs to address the effects of the drought, Tongson again asked for the continued support of Himamaylanons. ||
