Marawi rehab will not take away from ‘Yolanda’ aid, DSWD chief assures

Undersecretary Emmanuel Leyco, DSWD officer in charge (Photo from the DSWD Facebook account)

There will be continuous assistance for both the survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” and the rehabilitation of war-torn Marawi, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The assurance counters pronouncements made by several government officials, including Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), that government plans of diverting P5 billion in unused funds originally meant for “Yolanda” rehabilitation would be used to rebuild Marawi.

“Right now, the focus is really on Marawi. So funds are being coursed to Marawi,” Undersecretary Emmanuel Leyco, DSWD officer i charge said in a press conference on Friday. “But that doesn’t mean that if we help Marawi, we will neglect the victims of ‘Yolanda.’ I am sure it is a well-thought out plan that will not be to the detriment of ‘Yolanda’ survivors.”

The DSWD is taking the lead on the “early recovery programs” of the government for Marawi, which had gone through a five-month siege by the Islamic State-inspired Maute Group and was devastated by the ensuing fight between the terrorists and government troops.

Leyco assured that the DSWD’s assistance to the “Yolanda” survivors would continue, including a P10,000 to P30,000 emergency shelter assistance (ESA) for each family whose house was partially or totally damaged in the typhoon, and a P5,000 per household Presidential Financial Assistance (5kPFA) ordered implemented by President Rodrigo Duterte just last year, for typhoon-affected households which did not receive or were not eligible for the ESA.

After four years, the DSWD’s workload on “Yolanda” remains heavy.

Since the start of distribution of 5kPFA in May, a total of 62,220 household-beneficiaries, of the original 196, 258 targeted households, have already received the cash aid, amounting to a total of more than P311 million, according to a DSWD report.

But that means 134,038 of the targeted household have not yet received the assistance, on top of the 77,632 household-beneficiaries added to the target this year.

As for the Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA), a total of more than P21 billion had already been distributed, although last year, DSWD Assistant Secretary Aleli Bawagan, who assessed the distribution of the ESA on the ground in the Visayas region, said that while more than a million victims had been assisted, there were still hundreds of thousands who have yet to receive the ESA.

In her report last year, Bawagan pointed out problems with the local government in the validation of beneficiaries.

As to the modified shelter assistance program (MSAP) in other affected areas, 1,567 units have already been built out of 2, 983 target units.

Delays in the implementation of the MSAP, the DSWD said, were caused by relocation areas being inaccessible to construction workers; local governments’ lack of identification of sites in their areas; and budget constraints. /atm