The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Tuesday provided the Senate Special Committee on Marawi City Rehabilitation with updates on its ongoing relief assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Marawi City and its neighboring Lanao del Sur towns who have been affected by the still ongoing armed conflict in the region.

DSWD Disaster Response Assistance and Management Bureau (DReAMB) Director Felino O. Castro V briefed the members of the committee and other national government agency members of the Task Force Bangon Marawi on the current number of displaced families based on the Department’s Disaster Assistance Family Access Card (DAFAC), the profile of the IDPs, and the total cost of assistance provided by the Department to the evacuees.

Based on the September 5 report of DReAMB, the armed conflict has so far displaced a total of 78,466 families or 359, 680 persons from Lanao Del Sur.

A total of P348,893,788.87 worth of relief aid has been provided to the affected families and individuals by the DSWD, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao- Humanitarian Emergency Action and Response Team (ARMM- HEART), local government units, and non-government organizations (NGO).

The Senate Special Committee on Marawi City Rehabilitation was formed under Senate Resolution No. 457 filed by Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III to support President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s call of action to “provide full support, assistance and cooperation to Task Force Bangon Marawi.”

The committee is tasked to study, review, and inquire into matters that relate to the rebuilding and rehabilitation of Marawi City. It is chaired by Senator Gringo Honasan, with Senators Panfilo Lacson, JV Ejercito, Grace Poe, and Bam Aquino as members.

Meanwhile, the DSWD and its concerned Field Offices (FOs) continue to provide relief assistance to the evacuees.

The Department has been providing the IDPs with Family Food Packs (FFPs), hygiene kits, sleeping kits, and kitchen kits, as well as family kits, which contain bath towels, shirts, shorts, slippers, and undergarments.

The DSWD is also planning to distribute another set of FFPs containing rice, mongo beans, dried fish, iodized salt, turmeric, sugar, and coffee to offer another variety of food to the IDPs.

To help the evacuees earn money, the Department also continues to implement Cash-For-Work program. Under the program, IDPs can earn P200 a day for 10 days in exchange of the work that they render, such as dredging canals and cleaning of the evacuation centers, among others.###