The Bicol regional office of the DSWD distributed aid to farmers and fisherfolk in Masbate City. (Photo from the Facebook page of the DSWD Region V)
MANILA, Philippines — The Bicol regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has distributed aid to 204 fisherfolk and farmers in Masbate City whose livelihoods were affected by frequent rainfall.
The office handed out a total of P612,000 under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program to residents that were affected by the shear line weather disturbance, the DSWD Region V said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
The DSWD recently reported that 5,336,382 residents benefited from the various assistance types that the program offered in 2022.
At the beginning of 2023, there had been bad weather in several parts of the country due to the combined effects of the weather systems like the shear line and the northeast monsoon.
The continuous rains had caused flooding and landslides in some areas, leading to the deaths of at least 20 people, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Masbate City, which is in the Bicol Region. was one of the affected areas by the January rains.