Oil spill victims get jobs

A TOTAL of 2,996 affected families in Cordova town will be hired by the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD) to help clean coastal areas affected by the oil spill.

The beneficiaries will receive a salary of P245 per day for ten days under the DSWD’s cash-for-work program.

Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman approved the P17 million fund requested by the DSWD regional office for job assistance to oil spill victims.

Many families who rely on fishing for livelihood in Cordova were greatly affected by the oil spill caused by the sinking of passenger vessel MV St. Thomas Aquinas.

Also identified to benefit from the program are the 1,600 families also affected by the oil spill in Talisay City.

The DSWD-7 also distributed 9,561 food packs containing canned goods and rice to the affected families in Cordova and another 1,700 food packs to the affected fisherfolks in Talisay.