Locals in SurSur town
receive aid from local government
By Jennifer P. Gaitano
BUTUAN CITY, April 27 (PIA) -- Each family in the municipality of
Bayabas, Surigao del Sur has received one sack of rice from the local
government unit (LGU).
This formed part of the assistance being provided by the municipality
amid the crisis situation on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
According to municipal agriculturist and Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management (DRRM) officer-designate Geralyn Guibao, the distribution was done
on April 6 to 9 of this year.
Some 2,300 families from the seven barangays of said municipality have
received the aid.
As her way to thank the barangay health workers, the barangay tanods and
other frontliners, Bayabas Municipal Mayor Maria Clarita Limbaro also handed
over the relief packs to them which contain six kilos of rice, four tins of
corned beef, four tins of sardines, six sachets of 3-in-1 coffee, and they call
it “food packs 6-4-4-6.”
Some 185 individuals who are considered as persons under monitoring
(PUMs) or suspected cases in Bayabas, Surigao del Sur have also received twice
the “food packs 6-4-4-6," within the 14-day quarantine at their respective
homes.
Apart from this, the pumpboat operators have also received gasoline as
subsidy from the LGU for them to sustain their regular catch during the
enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) period.
Meanwhile, entrepreneurs from the public market have also benefited from
the free charge of rent for them to be able to maintain the price of basic
commodities.
As public transportation has been temporarily suspended due to ECQ, all
the multi-cab operators and tricycle drivers were authorized to operate twice
in every week.
The LGU of Bayabas pays the monthly rent amounting to P600.00 for the
multi-cab and P400.00 for every tricycle daily. These are being used as public
utility vehicles for those local residents who opt to buy food and medicines.
As of April 14, there were already some 97 fisherfolk-beneficiaries in
the municipality who received the P5,000.00 under the rice farmers financial
assistance being implemented by the Department of Agriculture. (JPG/PIA-Caraga)
Over 200K Caraga
beneficiaries receive SAP cash aid
By Doreen Marielle N. Rosales
BUTUAN CITY, April 27 (PIA) -- Thousands of families in Caraga have now
received financial assistance from the government through the Social Amelioration
Program (SAP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Since the conduct of program's payout, a total of 223,852 beneficiaries
were granted with the P5,000 financial aid. All 73 local government units
(LGUs) have now conducted the payout.
As the department aims to give assistance to 305,096 Caraganons, DSWD
Caraga is now focusing on serving 81,224 more beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, beneficiaries in Butuan City expressed their gratitude for
receiving such assistance. Tatay Ernesto Salmo, a senior citizen, said that
apart from the purchasing the basic necessities, the money will also be used to
purchase his needed maintenance medicines.
“As I am one of the individuals who have higher chances in contracting
the disease, it is important for me to be able to buy my medicine, which I can
now do with this money,” he said.
Single parents Emelinda Driz and Lorelyn Ebol felt even more relieved, as
they now have additional means to sustain the needs of their family. Emelinda
is a mother to seven children, four of whom are still dependent of her care.
“It is definitely a challenge to raise all my adolescent kids on my own.
This money will surely help with our daily expenses. I am assured that we won’t
be starving during the quarantine,” she added.
On the other hand, Lorelyn is a young mother to a three-year-old child
who has now stopped depending on breastfeeding, hence the added expenses for
infant milk. As this and her child’s other necessities are costly, the added
cash aid will definitely help her shoulder the expenses.
“Finding means to sustain my infant during quarantine has had me worried
since its implementation. This money has truly eased some of my financial burdens,”
she remarked.
The financial assistance has also assured Frederick Caballes that he has
some means to sustain the needs of his family amid the health crisis as he is
one of the millions of Filipinos in the informal employment sector whose
livelihood was greatly compromised upon the implementation of the
community-wide quarantine.
“Finding money is tough these days, especially for people like myself
who are now receiving an even smaller salary. I now have something to feed my
young children, even for the meantime,” he affirmed.
With the entire budget of the program allotted for strictly 18 million
families, the national government is making sure that the cash assistance will
only be benefitted by the poorest of the poor in the country which is why a
directive to hold any official liable for anomalies found in implementing the
program is strictly observed by the department.
As such, DSWD Caraga has been looking closely into the implementation of
the program in the various LGUs across the region, ensuring that the guidelines
are being observed upon implementation.
In addition to providing technical assistance, teams have been deployed
to 16 LGUs to monitor before, during, and after the conduct of payout, randomly
visiting households that have received assistance and verify their
qualification.
Regional Information Officer Marko Davey Reyes also reiterated that LGUs
will be made responsible for disallowances. Cash aid given to unqualified
individuals are to be returned and turned over to those who are qualified.
“The whole department is dedicated to uphold the objective of the
program, which is to provide assistance to the marginalized Filipinos during
this crisis. We will do our best to make sure to fulfill such task,” he said.
DSWD Caraga has designated an operations center to accommodate the
public’s grievances, which is on-call 24/7. Caraganons are urged to raise
complaints and voice their concerns by dialing their hotline numbers,
0926-914-9200/0956-183-5541 for Globe and TM users and
0951-382-7657/0951-382-7658 for Smart and Talk ‘n Text users. (DMR/PIACaraga)
LGU Dinagat Islands
to participate in People’s Survival Fund
By Susil D. Ragas
SAN JOSE, Dinagat Islands, Apr. 27 (PIA) -- The provincial government of
Dinagat Islands through its local legislator will participate in the
implementation of the Republic Act 10174 or otherwise known as People’s
Survival Fund Against Climate Change Law.
Dinagat Islands Board Member Ali P. Adlawan with consultation from
provincial legal officer Atty. Jan Perry B. Eugenio and chief of staff to the
Governor Josel Gonzales, Alan A. Conales and Domingo E. Elan Jr, recently
endorsed a proposal to Governor Arlene Kaka Bag-ao for the province to participate
in the implementation of the People's Survival Fund Against Climate Change Law
for food security and water supply sufficiency in the province.
Board Member Adlawan said the proposal will not only ensure food
security and water supply sufficiency but will also help to funds the
preservation and declaration of water source as community watershed, nature
care and other climate change adaptation programs of the province.
He also said that another goal of the said proposal is for the
development and prosperity of the island in terms of tourism development
especially the potential areas in the province such as bonsai forest and an
open island.
Adlawan added, that priority projects that were already lined up include
agricultural water infrastructure, agricultural input processing, crops and
fruits production, fish culture, poultry and eggs production, food preservation
and processing, and risk insurance for agri-fishery workers.
Former Congresswoman and Dinagat Islands Gov. Bag-ao is one of the
authors of the said law passed by the 5th Congress.
The People’s Survival Fund (PSF) was created by Republic Act 10174 as an
annual fund intended for local government units as accredited local/community
organizations to implement climate change adaptation projects that will better
equip vulnerable communities to deal with the impacts of climate change. (Dinagat
Islands-PIO/PIA-Dinagat Islands)
MGB-13, Caraga
minerals industry unite on 'Bayanihan to Heal as One Act' implementation
SURIGAO CITY, Surigao del Norte, Apr. 27 (PIA) -- In light of the
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Mines and Geosciences
Bureau-13 (MGB-13) and the Caraga minerals industry have collaborated to ensure
that the objectives of Republic Act (RA) No. 11469, otherwise known as the
“Bayanihan to Heal as One Act,” are achieved.
Various measures to promote quarantine, social distancing, sanitation,
cleanliness, and provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) were
undertaken to see to it that the health and welfare of MGB-13 employees are
upheld.
Alternative working arrangements pursuant to the Civil Service
Commission guidelines were also implemented in the Regional Office.
The skeletal workforce scheme was implemented from March 19 to April 8,
2020, at the time when Caraga Region was still under community quarantine.
However, the enhanced community quarantine was declared on April 7, 2020, which
resulted in the implementation of the 'Work from Home' scheme starting April
13, 2020.
During the 'Work from Home' period, a minimal number of employees will
man the office in order to respond to immediate concerns and other necessary
matters. Employees shall be on an on-call basis and required to report for work
when needed.
The necessary Regional Special Order has been issued by Regional
Director Glenn Marcelo C. Noble to implement these alternative working
arrangements. Excluded in the alternative working arrangements are senior
citizens and employees with medical concerns.
To safeguard the health and welfare of employees of Caraga mining
projects and their stakeholders, the MGB-13 sent official communications to the
Presidents/Resident Managers/General Managers of all mining companies
regardless of status (exploration, operation, rehabilitation or suspension) to
comply with RA No. 11469, Presidential Proclamation Nos. 922 (Declaring a State
of Public Health Emergency throughout the Philippines) and 929 (Declaring a
State of Calamity throughout the Philippines due to Corona Virus Disease 2019)
as well as the Orders/Resolutions issued by the Regional Inter-Agency Task
Force on Emerging Disease and Local Government Units.
The MGB-13 collaborated with mining companies to provide assistance to
their host and neighboring communities and other stakeholders as well as front
liners in the hospitals, checkpoints, and other pertinent areas in compliance
with the Memorandum dated March 27, 2020, of MGB Director Atty. Wilfredo G.
Moncano.
The said memorandum authorizes the realignment of unutilized funds of
the Social Development and Management Program to support affected impact and
non-impact communities due to COVID-19.
More than 22,330 mining and non-mining community residents including
front liners and 42,689 households benefited from the relief efforts and other
means of support given by mining companies.
Throughout the five Caraga provinces, the relief assistance came in
various forms such as PPE (face masks and shields, disposable gowns and gloves
and shoe covers), hygiene kits (isopropyl alcohol and hand sanitizer), medical
supplies (thermal scanners, medicines, and vitamins), food supplies and packs,
survival garden kits and even a heavy-duty truck.
For the first week of the SDMP realignment implementation covering the
period of April 1-8, 2020, the total amount of P16,261,360.10 was utilized by
Caraga mining companies in support of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act which
was signed into law by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on March 24, 2020.
The following Caraga mining companies supported the endeavor to fight
the COVID-19 pandemic are Adnama Mining Resources, Inc.; Agata Mining Ventures,
Inc.; Cagdianao Mining Corporation; Carrascal Nickel Corporation; CTP
Construction and Mining Corporation; Hinatuan Mining Corporation; Marcventures
Mining and Development Corporation; Mindanao Mineral Processing and Refining
Corporation; Philsaga Mining Corporation; Platinum Group Metals Corporation;
Sinosteel HY Philippines Mining Corporation; SR Metals Inc.; Taganito Mining
Corporation; and Taganito HPAL Nickel Corporation. (MGB-13/PIA-Surigao del
Norte)
