Medellin claims shelter assistance

CEBU, Philippines - Of the nine local government units, the municipality of Medellin is the fourth to have claimed the Emergency Shelter Assistance from the national government through the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Medellin Mayor Ricky Ramirez received on March 5 the check worth P211,580,000.

This is intended for 5,333 families in Medellin whose houses were partially damaged and 5,275 families whose houses were totally damaged by super typhoon Yolanda.

The most recent LGU to claim the ESA, according to DSWD-7, submitted its final and validated list of beneficiaries on February 26.

The turnover was done at the office of DSWD regional director Mercedita Jabagat Thursday afternoon.

In a statement, Jabagat said the list of beneficiaries “emanated from the local government units and signed by the respective mayors” and that “our office did not do the listing of ESA beneficiaries.”

Reacting to the Facebook posts of Ramirez who expressed confusion and disappointment that the date of the check was December 29, 2014 and not as the day of the turnover, Jabagat clarified that the Disaster Assistance and Family Access Card or DAFAC is not the assistance that the victims will receive.

DAFAC, she added, is a card issued by the LGU to victims of disaster indicating the general information of the family head and its members and the assistance received from various providers.

The card is likewise used to monitor the eligibility and assistance given to each beneficiary.

In the November 2014 Yolanda ESA guidelines, the amount of assistance is increased from P10,000 to P30,000 for totally destroyed house and from P5,000 to P10,000 for partially damaged house.

Furthermore, families with monthly income of 15,000 and below are qualified to receive the assistance.

Deemed ineligible are those earning higher amount, permanent government officials with over P15,000 monthly income, and those living on the danger zones since they are assisted by the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC).

On December 29, 2014, the DSWD-7 received the P1,909,630,000 intended for ESA in the nine Yolanda-stricken towns and one city in Cebu.   The breakdown of the financial assistance is as follows: Madridejos got P125.7 million for 1,425 families with partially damaged houses and 5,930 families with totally damaged houses; Santa Fe, P95.8 million for 2,536 families with partially damaged houses and 2,349 families with totally damaged houses; Bantayan, P375.8 million for 7,681 families with partially damaged houses and 9,969 families with totally damaged houses; Medellin, P211.5 million for 5,333 and 5,275 families with partially and totally damages houses; Daanbantayan with P425.7 million for the 3,626 families with partially damaged houses and 12,987 families with totally damaged houses; San Remegio, P188.1 million for 7,449 families whose houses are partially damaged and 3,788 families with totally damaged houses; Tabogon with P103.7 million for the 4,568 families with partially damaged houses and 1,937 families with totally damaged houses; Borbon with P99.2 million for the 6 families with partially damaged houses and 3,305 with totally damaged houses.

The city of Bogo has P283.6 million for the 7,692 families with partially damaged houses and 6,890 families whose houses were totally destroyed.

Mayors Salvador Dela Fuente of Madridejos, Augusto Corro of Daanbantayan, and Jose Esgana of Santa Fe claimed the shelter assistance on February 2, 4, and 10, respectively.

The towns of San Remegio, Tabogon and Borbon and the city of Bogo still lack documents based on the records of DSWD-7. — (FREEMAN)