Rules for granting of cash aid for typhoon-hit families set

MANILA – The granting of PHP5,000 in cash aid to families affected by the onslaught of Typhoon Odette will begin soon as concerned agencies have set the guidelines for its distribution, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Wednesday.

In a Palace briefing, DILG spokesperson, Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya, said the Joint Memorandum Circular signed by the DILG, the Department of National Defense, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) would serve as a guide for the distribution of cash aid worth about PHP4 billion.

“Susundin po natin iyong naging sistema noong pamimigay din po ng ating ayuda during the enhanced community quarantine. So kung lalampas po sa lima ang miyembro ng pamilya, hanggang limang libo lang po sila. So, ibig sabihin kung six po sila sa isang pamilya, up to PHP5,000 lamang (We will follow the system that was used when we distributed our aid during the enhanced community quarantine. If there are more than five family members, they will only get up to PHP5,000. This means that if there are six in a family, they will only get PHP5,000),” Malaya said.

He said the emergency assistance for typhoon-hit areas would be directly released to local government units (LGUs) and the target beneficiaries are low-income families severely affected by the typhoon.

Malaya said the LGU would be given 15 days to distribute the cash aid and the emergency assistance would be PHP1,000 per individual or PHP5,000 per family.

“Ngayon, alam po natin iyong sitwasyon na sa mga ibang kabahayan ay may dalawang pamilyang nakatira. So, kung dalawang pamilya po iyan, sabihin po natin mayroong dalawang mag-asawa tapos mayroon pa pong dalawang mag-asawa at saka isang anak, so ang mangyayari po ay PHP2,000 iyong dalawang mag-asawa; at iyon naman pong tatlo – dalawang mag-asawa at may anak – ay PHP3,000. So, ganoon po, we will count them on the basis of the number of families residing in the household (We know that some households have two families. Say there is a couple and there is another couple with one child. What will happen is the first couple will get PHP2,000, while the second couple with a child will get PHP3,000. We will count them on the basis of the number of families residing in the household),” he explained.

According to the Joint Memorandum Circular guidelines, the target beneficiaries are low-income families severely affected by “Odette”. The LGUs will post the names of beneficiaries on social media or in three conspicuous places in the barangay before the distribution.

The general guidelines for the aid grant include the following:

1. The assistance will be released in cash;
2. The LGUs will manage the distribution of the “ayuda” under the supervision of the DILG;
3. The LGUs will conduct the distribution within 15 calendar days from the start;
4. The DSWD will provide technical assistance to the LGUs; and
5. The DILG will monitor/supervise the management of the distribution through the Joint Monitoring and Inspection Committee (JMIC).

Malaya said each LGU has to create a grievance and appeals committee (GAC) to act on all complaints on the distribution of emergency assistance.

Grievances and appeals will be solely handled by the concerned LGU through the GAC and the JMIC.

The composition of the GAC will be determined by the local chief executive. It will expeditiously act on all complaints on the distribution of financial assistance and will maintain a hotline to receive complaints.

The JMIC, meanwhile, will be created in every municipality and chaired by the DILG field officer. It will also monitor the compliance of LGUs with the provisions of the Joint Memorandum Circular. It will file administrative and criminal cases against those involved in unlawful practices.

The JMIC will be composed of the DILG city/municipal local government operations officer as chairperson; municipal social welfare officer; representative of the DSWD Field Office (city/municipal action teams or social welfare and development representative) and chief of police, city/municipal police station.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier tasked the DILG to supervise the distribution of cash aid in urban centers while the military has been tasked to manage aid distribution in hard-to-reach areas.