Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Mimaropa Field Office begins distributing cash aid in Roxas, Oriental Mindoro, on June 1, 2023, for fishers hit by the MT Princess Empress oil spill. (Photos from DSWD)
MANILA, Philippines— Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has distributed cash assistance of P12,236 each to some 246 oil spill-hit fishers with motorized boats from Roxas, Oriental Mindoro, it said on Friday.
The recipients are among the total 24,698 fisherfolks across the country affected by the February 28 oil spill in Oriental Mindoro.
Through its Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan) Field Office, the welfare department rolled out the cash payouts on Thursday under its Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) Program.
More registered oil spill-hit fisherfolk with motorized and non-motorized boats will receive their monetary aid starting Friday, said DSWD.
Under the ECT program, fishers with motorized boats will receive P12,236 financial assistance, while those with non-motorized boats will receive P6,118.
DSWD aims to assist 14,291 oil-spill-affected individuals from both informal and formal fishing sectors in Oriental Mindoro through ECT monetary payouts within the month.
The welfare department has promised to distribute P127.7 million in cash to affected fishing communities from the municipalities of Baco, Bansud, Bongabong, Bulalacao, Gloria, Mansalay, Naujan, Pinamalayan, Roxas, San Teodoro, Socorro, Victoria, and Calapan city in Oriental Mindoro.
As of Sunday, the fishing ban has not been lifted in the towns of Naujan, Pola and Pinamalayan, which are all within 15 kilometers from where the tanker sank in February.
READ: Provincial gov’t lifts fishing ban in Oriental Mindoro towns cleared of oil spill
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported in April that of a total of 193,436 individuals affected by the spill nationwide, the majority (153,173) were from Mimaropa.
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