The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has released Memorandum Circular No. 3, which provides mechanisms for the distribution of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s financial assistance worth P5,000 to households affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013 who have not received the Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA) from the government up to now.

During the third year commemoration of ‘Yolanda’ in Tacloban City in November last year, Pres. Duterte addressed the appeal of some 200,000 ​survivors

who have not received their ESA ever since the super typhoon hit the country. He committed to give financial assistance worth P5,000 to each household to finally help them rebuild their houses, and eventually, their lives.

The financial assistance will be funded by P1 billion from the Socio-Civic Projects Fund of the Office of the President and will be coursed through the DSWD.

“The Department has earlier issued a Memorandum following Pres. Duterte’s announcement of the assistance last year, guiding concerned units at the Central Office and Regional Offices on the preparations needed to operationalize the President’s directive,” DSWD Secretary Judy Taguiwalo said.

The assistance will be provided to eligible households affected by ‘Yolanda’ in Regions VI, VII, and VIII and the Negros Island Region. Each entitled household, without distinction as to the extent of damage to the home, will receive P5,000.

The beneficiaries will be given the assistance directly through a cash card to be issued by the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).

Eligibility Criteria

In order to qualify for the President’s financial assistance, a household must meet all of the following criteria:

The dwelling of the household must have been damaged by ‘Yolanda,’ regardless of the extent of the damage or ownership of the lot on which the house is built​;​

The household requested assistance from the DSWD  on or before November 8, 2016, and must either;​

Have been included in one of the lists submitted to the DSWD by People’s Organizations (POs) and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) on or before November 8, 2016;

Have been included in one of the lists of unfunded ESA family-beneficiaries submitted on June 22, 2016 to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM); or

Have submitted, on or before November 8,2016, a complaint to the DSWD of not having received assistance, which must have been confirmed and validated by the DSWD.

Availment

To avail of the financial assistance, eligible households must submit the following documents:

Accomplished Financial Assistance Application Form, indicating the demographic information of the household-beneficiary;

Certification issued by the proper barangay authorities on the residency of the household-beneficiary; and​

Any valid Identification Card (ID)​.​

In case a household is unable to present any valid ID, the partner PO to which the identified beneficiary belongs to shall issue a Certification as to the identity of the beneficiary. The PO shall also send a representative during the distribution of the assistance to affirm the identity of the beneficiary.

Certification executed by the beneficiary that the household has not received any of the following assistance:

Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA), in cash or in kind;

Core Shelters from DSWD under the Core Shelter Assistance Program (CSAP) and Modified Shelter Assistance Program (MSAP);

Permanent housing from National Housing Authority (NHA); or

Any other shelter or housing grant from the government​.​

Implementation

DSWD- Field Offices (FOs) in Regions VI, VII, VIII, and NIR will be the implementing offices of the program under the supervision of the Office of the Secretary.

The FOs will validate and receive from the prospective beneficiaries the documentary requirements and will come up with a list of eligible households, which they will submit to the Central Office.

The Central Office (CO) will consolidate the lists from FOs into a single master list and submit the same to the LBP, which will open an account and issue a cash card for each beneficiary. The bank will load each card with P5,000 upon receiving the needed funds from the DSWD and transmit them to LBP branches corresponding to the concerned field offices.

The concerned field offices shall ensure that the LBP branches will distribute the cash cards to the beneficiaries. The distribution of the financial assistance will be completed within six months.

“The assistance is meant to give justice to ‘Yolanda’ survivors who have been fighting for three years to get the ESA from the government, but were not able to avail. A little more patience and this will be given to them. We at the DSWD have been doing our best to validate the beneficiaries of Pres. Duterte’s financial assistance program and to process its release as soon as possible so these victims can start their lives anew,” she said,” Sec. Taguiwalo ended.