MANILA,
June 10 -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has begun
processing a one-time PHP1,000 cash assistance for each family displaced by the
ongoing hostilities in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur.
According
to a department news release, Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo said the
assistance will be provided under the DSWD Assistance to Individuals in Crisis
Situations (AICS).
“Most
of our fellow citizens from Marawi are Muslims. We are now processing to
provide them cash assistance because it is Ramadan. They can use it to buy
fruits because they are breaking their fast,” Taguiwalo said during a radio
interview.
She
noted that representatives from Lanao suggested the provision of the cash
assistance to help Muslim evacuees who are observing the fasting month of
Ramadan despite being in evacuation centers.
Taguiwalo
said this is only a one-time cash aid, as her department continues to provide
the evacuees food.
The
DSWD is also preparing the provision of additional assistance, such as tents,
once the evacuees return to Marawi, the social welfare chief said.
According
to the department, as of last Thursday, the armed conflict has displaced a
total of 50,327 families or 245,341 persons in 27 barangays in Marawi City and
13 barangays in Marantao, Lanao del Sur.
Of
the figure, 4,244 families or 20,627 individuals are staying in 63 evacuation
centers, while 44,999 families or 219,339 persons are with relatives or friends
in Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Soccsksargen, Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), and the Negros islands. (DSWD-PR
