Legazpi City—The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region V partners with the local government units (LGUs) to facilitate the distribution of the Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA) to families whose houses were destroyed by Typhoon Nina of the affected areas in the provinces of Albay, Camarines Sur and Catanduanes.

Regional Director Arnel Garcia reiterated that qualified beneficiaries will receive the assistance in cash and only validated list of qualified beneficiaries are entitled to the said aid.

The schedule of the ESA payout will not be disclosed by DSWD to the public for security purposes. The ESA claimants can directly contact the LGUs that will announce the date of assistance distribution.

During the payout, the claimants must bring a valid government-issued ID (with picture and signature). If the claimant is dead, the household member who is included on the ESA form can present a document that will prove the relationship such as marriage or birth certificate. If the beneficiary is a member of the Indigenous People, the claimant should bring a certification from the barangay council and municipal social welfare and development office (MSWDO).

Furthermore, the DSWD completed the fund transfer for the payment of the totally damaged houses while the transfer of funds for the partially damaged houses is still on process.

DSWD arranged the fund transfer to LGUs through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to expedite the process of the payout. The fund from DSWD to LGUs are released in two tranches. The second and last tranche will only be transferred to LGUs if they completed the liquidation of the first tranche. Thus, the ESA payout at the LGU-level will be done in two separate batches.

Families with partially damaged houses will receive P10,000.00 that will be paid through the Provincial LGU. For totally damaged houses, families already received P5,000.00 of the P30,000.00 cash assistance and the remaining balance will be distributed by the municipal LGU.

Similarly, the provincial LGU of Camarines Sur will do the payout for the municipality of Libmanan.

Moreover, the payroll prepared by DSWD Region V is the sole basis of the ESA payout. If there are changes in the claimant, the LGU must consult and seek for the approval from Dir. Garcia through the Protective Services Unit (PSU).

The list of ESA beneficiaries was based on the LGU reports which was submitted to DSWD Region V last January 30, 2017. Consequently, the lists were validated by the DSWD field workers. There were ineligible families for ESA because some persons moved out or cannot be located.

ESA is the provision of emergency “self-build” shelter assistance through limited financial assistance in order to augment the resources of families affected by disasters. In particular, it enables them to purchase shelter materials required in constructing or repairing their damaged houses as a result of disasters.