‘Stranded’ PWDs to get cash aid when they come home to Cebu City – DSWS chief

The financial assistance distribution to the Persons with Disability in Cebu City started on Saturday, August 15, 2020. | Photo Courtesy of DSWS

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The distribution of financial assistance to Persons with Disability (PWD) in Cebu City is now 90 percent complete.

Frances Abangan, head of the Department of Social Welfare Services (DSWS) office, said they intend to complete the distribution on Wednesday, the target given by Mayor Edgardo Labella.

Labella gave DSWS five days to complete the distribution of the P3, 000 assistance to the more than 11, 000 registered PWDs in the city.  But the schedule may still be extended for another 10 days if there was a need to.

Abangan, however, assured PWDs who are now stranded in Cebu province and other parts of the country because of quarantine restrictions that they will still be given a chance to claim their share of the assistance as soon as they return to the city.

DSWS has listed 11,534 PWDS who are qualified to receive the cash aid amounting to P3, 000 for the months of April to June.  Registered PWDs are qualified to get cash aid of P1, 000 per month from City Hall.

As of Tuesday morning, DSWS has already released the share of the assistance to 10,381 recipients.

For the stranded PWDs, Abangan is asking them to call the Gender and Development (GAD) focal person in their respective barangays to inform them of their current situation.

“If dili sila kauli para kwaon ilang financial assistance awhag namo nga motawag sila sa ilang barangay, pangitaon nila ang GAD focal person og moinform nga stranded sila aron matake note nato kung kinsa tong modawat pa,” said Abangan.

(If they still cannot come home now to claim their financial assistance, I am asking them to call their barangays and look for the GAD focal person and inform them that they remain stranded so the GAD focal person can take note who else hasn’t claim their share of the aid.)

Abangan said they will soon be making an announcement on how stranded PWDs can claim their share of the cash aid since distribution cannot be done at City Hall as per instruction of Mayor Labella to deter the spread of the coronavirus disease.

“Ang importante is safe atong PWDs. Mangita tag paagi nga hapsay ang atong pagdistribute sa katong dili kaabot aning five days nga financial distribution,” she added.

(The safety of our PWDs is important.  We will just have to find means to ensure an orderly distribution of assistance to those who not make it in time for our five-days distribution schedule.)  / dcb