2,115 Yolanda survivors in Kalibo finally to get shelter aid

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

Finally, typhoon victims whose houses were totally damaged will receive their shelter funds from the national government within the week.  

Acting Kalibo treasurer Rey Villaruel said 2,115 family-survivors in the town of Kalibo will receive P63.450-million allocated by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to repair their totally damaged houses.

“As soon na maayos na ang payroll, we will release (the funds),” added Villaruel.

Families from 16 barangays in Kalibo with totally damaged houses will get P30,000 of Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA) funds more than a year after super typhoon Yolanda struck the province of Aklan. The distribution of cash grants will be done by batch. 

ESA is an emergency “self-build” shelter assistance through limited materials or financial assistance to augment resources of affected families who opted not to be transferred to a resettlement site to enable them to purchase materials for their damaged houses.

Last February, the town of Kalibo distributed the P10,000 shelter assistance to 9,294 families for partially damaged houses. Both ESA funds were facilitated by Kalibo mayor William Lachica at DSWD regional office in Iloilo City.

Under the new guidelines issued on November 2014, regular employees of government and private sectors/ organizations with fix monthly salary below P15,000 are also eligible, provided they have not received the same assistance from other agencies and are indicated in the masterlist of beneficiaries in accordance with the DSWD-Disaster Family Access Card (DAFAC).

Furthermore, families whose houses were either partially or totally damaged located in safe areas or in controlled areas which are already provided with engineering and/or scientific interventions to make it habitable are also eligible for ESA. 

Last month, DSWD also released P15.1 million for 505 families in Lezo, P10.7 million for 358 families in Tangalan, P5.5 million for 184 families in Nabas, and P16.9 million for 566 families in Ibajay, all in Aklan.