BALANGA CITY (PIA) — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) distributed about P22.1 million in Emergency Cash Transfers (ECT) to 4,096 disaster-affected beneficiaries in Orani, Bataan.
The assistance, provided under the agency’s Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport program, supports President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to strengthen disaster response through timely and responsive social protection assistance for affected Filipinos.
According to the DSWD Field Office 3 (FO 3), the agency provided P5,400 each to 2,141 beneficiaries during the first day of the payout on September 23 at the Orani Multi-Purpose Gymnasium, releasing a total of P11,561,400.
The distribution continued on September 24, with another 1,955 beneficiaries receiving P5,400 each for a total of P10,557,000.
Over the two-day payout, DSWD FO 3 released P22,118,400 in ECT assistance to 4,096 beneficiaries.
ECT is an unconditional cash assistance intervention that helps disaster-affected families meet immediate needs and support their early recovery.
Beneficiaries may use the assistance for food, medicine, health care, shelter repair, and the restoration of livelihood sources.
To ensure an orderly and accessible payout, DSWD FO 3 also established a help desk during the second day of distribution.
Personnel assisted beneficiaries with inquiries and document verification and provided additional support to senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and pregnant women.
DSWD personnel, known as the agency’s “Angels in Red Vests,” facilitated the payout and guided beneficiaries throughout the process.
The distribution forms part of DSWD’s continuing efforts to deliver timely social protection assistance to disaster-affected communities and advance the government’s disaster response and early recovery initiatives. (CLJD/RPQ, PIA Region 3-Bataan)
