EL NIÑO ASSISTANCE. A social welfare personnel facilitates the release of a PHP10,000 cash assistance to a farmer in this undated photo. Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 7 (Central Visayas) Director Shalaine Marie Lucero said on Thursday (July 18, 2024) that they released PHP130.1 million in financial aid to farmers, fishers, and families whose livelihoods were affected by the El Niño phenomenon. (Photo courtesy of DSWD-7)
CEBU CITY – More than 13,000 farmers, fishers, and families identified as severely affected by the dry spell brought by the El Niño phenomenon in Central Visayas received PHP130.1 million worth of assistance, a social welfare official said on Thursday.
Shalaine Marie Lucero, director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 7 (Central Visayas), said the Ayuda para sa Kapos Ang Kita Program (AKAP) of the agency helped 13,010 farmers, fishers, and families to cushion the impact of the dry spell on their livelihoods.
Lucero said each of the 13,010 individuals from different towns and cities of Bohol and Negros Oriental provinces received PHP10,000 in cash to help each of them get back on their feet.
DSWD-7 served 5,901 beneficiaries from Negros Oriental and 7,109 from Bohol.
The aid was distributed through the Presidential Assistance for Farmers, Fisherfolks, and Families by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental and Tagbilaran City, Bohol on June 27 and 28, respectively.
About 7,000 more have yet to receive the aid as validation is still being conducted, Lucero said.
“The President instructed us to ensure that 20,000 beneficiaries from the agriculture and fisheries sector, as well as families affected by high inflation, will be provided with DSWD assistance,” Lucero added. (PNA)
