DSWD: Cash aid payout for Mindanao earthquake victims to start on June 23, 2026

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Tuesday, June 23 will roll out its Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) program for families affected by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit off the coast of Sarangani earlier this month.

In a statement, DSWD Disaster Response Management Bureau (DRMB) director Maria Isabel Lanada said they will distribute cash aid to affected families in Davao Occidental, Sarangani, and General Santos City.

“Sa Tuesday, pupunta po si Secretary Rex Gatchalian ulit sa mga lugar na labis na naapektuhan ng lindol. Ang ilan sa mga lugar na ito ay ang mga munisipalidad ng Glan at Malapatan sa Sarangani; General Santos City; at Balut Island at Jose Abad Santos sa Davao Occidental. Mamimigay na po kami ng emergency cash transfer sa ating mga kababayan,” Lanada said.

(On Tuesday, Secretary Rex Gatchalian will again visit the areas severely affected by the earthquake. Some of these areas are the towns of Glan and Malapatan in Sarangani; General Santos City, and Balut Island and Jose Abad Santos in Davao Occidental. We will begin our emergency cash transfer to our countrymen.)

She said the ECT program is part of the early recovery phase to help victims of the earthquake in rebuilding their damaged houses and purchase other necessities on top of the relief items initially distributed by the DSWD.

“Naririnig niyo po si Secretary Rex Gatchalian; talagang ang command niya sa amin ay mag-conduct na ng emergency cash transfers kasi naibigay na natin ‘yung mga family food packs (FFPs) and non-food items (NFIs). So kung mapapansin niyo po sa data natin, may 84,580 na totally damaged and partially damaged houses,” Lanada said.

(You hear Secretary Rex Gatchalian; his command to us is to conduct the emergency cash transfers because we already distributed the family food packs and non-food items. So if you notice, there are 84,580 totally damaged and partially damaged houses.)

More than 139,000 affected families from Region 11 (Davao Region) and Region 12 (SOCCSKSARGEN) are expected to receive the cash aid from the ECT program, which has an estimated allocated budget of more than P799.59 million.

Earlier, the DSWD released more than P378.3 million in relief items such as ready-to-eat food (RTEF) boxes, NFIs, hot meals, and family tents to communities affected by the June 8 earthquake.

Data from the DSWD's Disaster Response Operations Monitoring, Information and Communication (DROMIC) report showed that as of 6 a.m. of June 22, the destructive tremor has affected 380,379 families or 1,627,376 individuals across 635 barangays in Regions 9 (Zamboanga), Region 11 (Northern Mindanao), Region 12 (SOCCSKARGEN), and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

DSWD spokesperson and Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said the agency is well-equipped to sustain its ongoing relief efforts with over P4.3 billion worth of food and NFIs prepositioned across all regions and P94.378 million in available Quick Response Funds (QRF). — JMA, GMA News