Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental—The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) leaves no stone unturned in its efforts to provide assistance to Misamis Occidental residents affected by the flooding brought about by the shear line weather condition late in 2022.

This time, no less than DSWD Secretary Rey Gatchalian led the distribution of the Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) assistance to the survivors in the two payout centers of the province: Bayfront Arena in this city and the Gymnasium of Tudela town.

A total of 6,037 beneficiaries received P13,680 in ECT assistance each from the DSWD.

Of this number, the Tudela Gymnasium payout venue served 1,946 beneficiaries, while the Bayfront Arena in this city catered to 4,091 beneficiaries. This brings the total to P82,586,160 released during the simultaneous payouts.

Secretary Gatchalian assured the survivors that DSWD will continue to assist them until they recovered from the effects of the weather condition.

“I am here today to accomplish the promise of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to help Misamisnons recover from the tragedy,” Gatchalian said to the survivors during the televised simultaneous ceremony of distributing the assistance Saturday.

The secretary vowed to continue assisting the local government units of the province, headed by Governor Henry S. Oaminal.

He said payouts will continue in the days to come.

He added that the DSWD would continue to work with the provincial and local governments down to the barangays because they find it crucial to prioritize the people’s safety and well-being.

The ECT is an adaptive strategy of the DSWD to bridge the gap between immediate disaster relief, humanitarian response, and early recovery support in disasters and emergencies by providing unconditional cash assistance to disaster-affected families.

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