Over 5,000 Siargao families affected by Odette receive financial aid

More than 5,000 households on Siargao Island got financial assistance to help them recover from Typhoon Odette's devastation last month.

According to Nico Waje’s “24 Oras Weekend” report on Saturday, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) distributed P5,000 cash assistance to the first batch of most affected families in 13 barangays in Dapa town.

Odette's onslaught affected about 14,000 people in Dapa, according to the DSWD Caraga.

The department said that not all affected families would be given financial assistance.

“This is based on the assessment po ng barangay, if yung bahay, kung ilan po sila sa pamilya, kung marami ba sila, meron ba silang mga vulnerable sector sa pamilya. Isa rin po sa tinitignan ay if yung means of income po nila ay naapektuhan rin po ng bagyong Odette,” Reishel May Mentolaroc, planning officer of DSWD Caraga, said.

(This is based on the assessment of the barangay. It depends on the size of the family and if they have vulnerable sectors in the family. They also check the means of income and if their livelihood was affected by the typhoon.)

Over P29 million in cash assistance has already been distributed to the affected families in Dapa, the department said.

The DSWD Caraga said they were still waiting for the announcement of the regional office for the second batch of financial assistance for the affected families in the other municipalities of Siargao.

Meanwhile, one of the beneficiaries said that the cash assistance enabled them to purchase food and building materials in order to reconstruct their homes.

“Napakahirap po kasi, ngayon lang po kami nakaranas nang malakas na bagyo. Tapos nawalan po kami ng tirahan, okay naman po sana kung wala kaming maliliit na anak, [kaso] meron po,” Ester Blase, a resident and beneficiary of the financial assistance, said.

(It's quite difficult because this is our first time dealing with a powerful storm. We lost our home and our children are still young.)

The reported death toll due to Typhoon Odette soared to 407, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Saturday.

The agency said a state of calamity was declared in 334 cities and municipalities. — Richa Noriega/VBL, GMA News