DSWD to donate P5K each for displaced Marawi families

Evacuees from Marawi City find safety in the town of Saguiaran in Lanao del Sur province, away from the fighting raging in their city since last month. —AFP

MANILA — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has released guidelines for the distribution of cash assistance, worth P5,000, for families displaced from the predominantly Muslim city of Marawi which has been besieged by a terrorist attacks since May 23.

In a statement on Wednesday, Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo said the assistance would be released in two tranches, the first of which of which would be distributed earlier to help families observing Ramadan to procure appropriate food for the month-long religious holiday, and the second to help in transportation costs.

“We have decided to provide each affected family with P1,000 apart from the family food packs and all the other food donations that we are receiving on their behalf. The families can use the money to buy food that is more suitable for them when they break their fast at sunset,” Taguiwalo said.

During Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.  The DSWD, in its statement, has said that the usual contents of their family food packs—six kilos of rice, three cans of corned beef, three cans of sardines, and six packs of ready-to-drink coffee—are not suitable for the Muslim holiday.

“As for the remaining P4,000, it will be released to each family when it is already safe for them to return to Marawi. We are also preparing other actions to help them when they resume their lives in their communities—other DSWD programs will be made accessible to them,” Taguiwalo added.

The cash assistance will be coursed through the DSWD’s Protective Services Program, and downloaded to the DSWD field offices or DSWD Off-site “Serbisyo” locations such as schools, barangay halls, covered courts or evacuation centers, particularly in the regions of northern Mindanao and Soccskargen where the evacuees have taken shelter.

“Our Muslim brothers and sisters from Marawi are supposed to be observing the holy season of Ramadan, but their normal way of life has been disrupted because of the armed conflict.  They cannot fully observe the rites and eat the traditional meals because most of them have been displaced – with many now staying in the evacuation centers. We have to give what assistance we can to help them cope with the situation,” Taguiwalo said.

According to the DSWD, as of 2 a.m. on Tuesday, 65,198 families or 316,684 individuals have been displaced from Marawi City and Marantao in Lanao del Sur, with 3,074 families or 14,772 persons staying in 68 evacuation centers, as the clashes between the military and self-proclaimed ISIS supporters in Marawi entered into its fourth week.

Meanwhile, Taguiwalo also thanked those who have pitched in assistance to the displaced families through the DSWD, including University of the Philippines campuses in Metro Manila. Sogo Hotel, the Bureau of Customs., the Mindanao Banana Farmers & Exporters Association Inc. (MBFEA, Inc.), the Kabataan Party List-Cordillera, and even Cebu Pacific Air line which gave the DSWD 20 metric tons or 20,000 kilograms of cargo space for free on its Manila-Cagayan de Oro flights for the transport of relief goods.

DSWD Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo. (File photo by MARIANNE BERMUDEZ / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Donations from the National Capital Region (NCR) could be coursed through the DSWD National Relief Operations Center on Chapel Road, Pasay City, open on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., with telephone number (02)5111259. Meanwhile, foreign cash donations can be deposited to bank account number 3124-0055-81 with account name DSWD FOREIGN DONATION and swift code TLBPPHMMXXX. Peso cash donations, on the other hand, can be deposited to bank account number 3122-1011-84 with account name DSWD DONATION at the Land Bank of the Philippines, Batasan Branch, Constitution Hills, Quezon City.

Mindanao-based donations can be made to the DSWD Field Office located at Masterson Ave., Upper Carmen 9000 Cagayan de Oro City with telephone numbers (88) 858-8134 and 858-6333 or at the DSWD Soccskargen field office located at Poblacion, Koronadal City, South Cotabato with telephone number (083) 228 6080

Donors are advised to notify the DSWD-Finance Management Service (FMS) of their donation through phone or email. Validated deposit slips should be sent with the donors’ name, nationality, and address to [email protected] and [email protected], or faxed to 931-8127.  SFM

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