TACLOBAN CITY– Twenty-one disaster-stricken homeowners from Leyte and Tacloban recently received cash relief assistance from the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Regional Office VIII.
As highlight of their 6th year anniversary, DHSUD VIII distributed P210,000 worth of cash assistance under the agency’s Integrated Disaster Shelter Assistance Program (IDSAP).
This is a one-time, unconditional cash assistance of P30,000 provided to families whose houses are totally damaged; while, P10,000 given to those with partially-damaged shelters due to calamity, either man-made or natural.
Grateful beneficiaries said the assistance will help them go through recovery and rehabilitation and build back a sense of normalcy and stability in their lives after disaster.
All the beneficiaries in the recent distribution were affected by the onslaught of Typhoon Kristine in October which caused widespread damage leaving thousands of families from different provinces in the country with destroyed homes.
Under this emergency assistance program, DHSUD extends shelter assistance to beneficiaries whose houses are damaged or destroyed by disasters such as typhoons, earthquakes, landslides, and fires.
DHSUD VIII Regional Director Michael Victor Tezon said during the Kapihan sa PIA that DHSUD ensures to stay at the frontline of disaster response both at national and local levels and to immediately aid families to rebuild their homes.
“When others help are in the form of food assistance or clothing, with DHSUD we would like to assist those disaster-affected to rebuild homes, as it is really hard to lose homes that provide safe shelter for their families,” Tezon said.
He added that the program will further develop into providing beneficiaries with actual building materials such as GI Sheets, plyboards and others and not just cash assistance.
Launched in February 2024, the IDSAP has already distributed P2.44 million cash assistance to 155 beneficiaries in Eastern Visayas who were affected by fires and Typhoons Aghon, Enteng and Kristine in 2024.
(AHLETTE C. REYES/PIA-8)
