The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has committed to provide emergency cash assistance to around 23,000 drought-affected farmers in Isabela and nearby provinces following the impact of the ongoing dry spell.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said the directive came from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., who ordered the immediate provision of financial aid to farmers whose livelihoods have been severely affected.
“Our President sent us here to talk to Isabela Governor Rodolfo ‘Rodito’ Albano III and the mayors because the dry spell is affecting many of our corn farmers. We are focused on fuel in Metro Manila and the transport sector, but we cannot neglect our farmers. My assurance to the governor and our farmers is that we will provide emergency cash transfers to help corn farmers in Isabela and parts of Cagayan and Nueva Vizcaya,” Gatchalian said.
.The DSWD chief said the agency aims to distribute the assistance once the list of affected farmers, to be provided by local government units, has been validated and submitted.
“Next week we will get the list, and the payout will likely be the week after. The province and the LGUs will validate the list and submit it to us,” he said.
The DSWD will source the assistance from its Quick Response Fund, allocated for disaster-related interventions in areas that have declared a state of calamity due to disasters such as drought.
“Since a state of calamity has been declared, we can use our Quick Response Fund, which we use in disasters like this dry spell that has turned into a drought,” Gatchalian said.
Each farmer is expected to receive P10,000 to help them recover from crop losses caused by prolonged dry conditions.
The DSWD chief also assured farmers that the agency has sufficient funds to support the agriculture sector while also assisting transport groups affected by rising fuel prices.
During his visit to Isabela on March 20, Gatchalian also checked on beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, Walang Gutom Program, and the Sustainable Livelihood Program.
