THE leadership of the House of Representatives in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) have distributed cash aid to at least 1,653 families who fell victim to the series of tremors that rocked the province of Davao de Oro the past week.
Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez and Tingog Party-list Rep. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez helped facilitate the release of cash aid to the victims—most of whom were displaced by the earthquake—under DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) Program.
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck the Mindanaoan province on March 22, followed by strong aftershocks that caused a considerable amount of damage to property of the citizens.
“Natural calamities such as earthquakes are unforeseen, and the injuries and damage it causes are of no fault of the victims. So it is only just to allocate and direct the government’s ayuda program to victims of the Davao de Oro earthquakes,” the Speaker said.
“We know that the amount of assistance does not really cover the damage done by the recent calamity. But we hope it alleviates a little our citizens’ plight in this time of need,” Tingog’s Romualdez said. “The government is doing everything in its power to restore normalcy to Davao de Oro.”
The DSWD, along with representatives from Romualdez’s office and local government officials, conducted AICS payouts to the municipalities of Compostela, New Bataan and Maragusan.
In Compostela, a total of 319 beneficiaries received cash aid of P3,000 each.
House Deputy Secretary General Sofonias P. Gabonada Jr. represented the Romualdez couple in the financial aid distribution and was accompanied by Davao de Oro Rep. Maria Carmen S. Zamora.
In New Bataan, a P5,000-cash assistance was given to each of the 503 beneficiaries, all from Barangay Andap.
Lawmakers have also facilitated the swift distribution of AICS amounting to P3,000 to 285 beneficiaries from the remote and no-network signal Barangay Tandik of Maragusan, Davao de Oro.
In Barangay Paloc, Maragusan, Davao de Oro, an additional 465 families whose houses were partially damaged benefitted from P3,000 financial aid and additional 81 families received P5,000 each after their houses were reported to have been totally damaged.
