Disaster Response and Management Bureau Director Felino Castro updates the members of Task Force Bangon Marawi on DSWD’s assistance to internally displaced persons during a meeting held in the city.

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Officer-in-Charge Emmanuel A. Leyco is now in Iligan City to check on the status of the relief repacking hubs and look into how the Department can improve the rehabilitation for families affected by the Marawi crisis.

DSWD-Field Office XII Regional Director Bai Zorahayda Taha, DSWD-Field Office X Nestor Ramos, Undersecretary Luz Ilagan, Undersecretary Hope Hervilla, and Director Felino Castro V joined him in the ocular visit. Upon checking the hubs in Initao and Dalipuga, the DSWD-OIC said that he will seriously look into suggestions that Cash-for-Work wages for beneficiaries should be increased and made equal to the regional wage rate. He also said that there would also be changes in the CFWs program starting 2018 to appropriately address the needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) working for a living.

In the meantime, during the Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) meeting held yesterday, DSWD Disaster Response Assistance and Management Bureau (DReAMB) Dir. Castro reported that, as of October 23, the Department has released a total of ₱607.22 million worth of Food and Non-Food Items (FNIs) and cash for the IDPs.

The FNIs include family food packs, family tents, hygiene kits, dignity kits, malong, mosquito nets, plastic mats, blankets, sets of kitchen utensils, and other items like laminated sacks, tarpaulins, sacks, and brassieres. The Department also provided packs of high energy biscuits, cup noodles, and infant dry cereal. Meanwhile, the DSWD-FOs and LGUs are working hard to continuously provide FNIs and CFW.

Based on the Department’s database of deduplicated list of IDPs, there are 77,170 displaced families. Concerned DSWD-Field offices are continuously validating and updating the data especially for those staying outside the evacuation centers for appropriate assistance.

Meanwhile, TFBM announced that starting October 29 affected families can return to Marawi.

Close coordination with home-based IDPs, barangays, or with nearby City or Municipal Social Welfare and Development Offices (C/MSWDOs) is requested to immediately assist the families.

DSWD-OIC Leyco explained that the Department will come up with its own social assessment not limited to the physical assessment of impact from the Marawi crisis.

“We are rebuilding communities not just the infrastructure. We need to know how to help people cope with the trauma of their recent ordeal. We need to bring normalcy in Marawi,” he added.#