A party-list lawmaker has urged the public to direct all donations to the victims of Typhoon “Lando” to people’s organizations in Aurora province, Cagayan Valley, Cordillera, Ilocos and Central Luzon regions and not through the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Anakpawis Rep. Fernando Hicap said the DSWD has had a “disastrously ineffectual record” when it comes to distributing aid to typhoon victims.
He added that the DSWD under the stewardship of Secretary Corazon Soliman should not be trusted anymore in terms of being the government’s caretaker of donations for victims of typhoons and calamities.
“Give aid directly to the victims or through their organizations and never through DSWD as we all know what happened to the victims of typhoon Yolanda, Pablo, Ruby, Seniang and other calamities. Give your contributions directly to the peoples’ organization and NGOs that are directly coordinating with them,” Hicap said.
Hicap noted that in Januay 2013, victims of Typhoon “Pablo” in Mindanao were so neglected that they were driven to set up roadblocks just to get the attention of the Aquino government. As a result, Hicap recounted that Soliman promised to deliver 10,000 sacks of rice.
After a month, Hicap said, Soliman’s promise had not materialized and so, again, more than 3,000 victims set up camp at the DSWD Region 11 office where tons of relief were being stored.
“During Typhoon Yolanda, [President] Aquino boasted that the government was prepared even mentioning that the planes and helicopters of the DND were all geared up, but as the typhoon left, when we all saw its destructive impact, we all realized how inept and neglectful the government really is in responding that even up to now, many victims have yet to avail of the Emergency Shelter Assistance or ESA,” Hicap said.
Citing the Severe Weather Bulletin No. 13 of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, in Aurora, Cagayan Valley and Ilocos provinces, Hicap said reports increasingly point to significant damages to houses, banana, coconut and rice crops.
“With severe damages to crops that are their source of livelihood, affected families of farmers could be in for a long period of food shortage or starvation as they would have no source of income and so they would not only need relief but rehabilitation,” Hicap said.
Hicap also cited several groups of sectors or non government organizations where donations for victims of typhoon Lando could be coursed through: Panlalawigang Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Aurora (Pamana Aurora) for Aurora province, Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luson (Amgl) for Central Luzon provinces including Pangasinan, Danggayan Dagiti Mannalon Ti Cagayan Valley (Danggayan-CV, Alliance of Farmers in Cagayan Valley) for provinces Isabela, Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino, Alyansa Dagiti Pesante Iti Tae’ng Kordilyera (Apit-Tako, Alliance of Peasants in Cordillera) for Cordillera provinces and Stop Exploitation (Stop Ex) for Ilocos provinces.
These farmers groups are regional and provincial chapters of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) that likewise compose the regional chapters of Anakpawis party-list, Hicap said.