To avail of the valuable assistance from national government agencies especially in times of disasters, barangay leaders must closely coordinate with and submit on time the needed and validated reports or important documents to the city government or concerned department.
This was the reminder of Marlene Febes Peralta, DSWD assistant regional director, to the city’s 39 villages during her recent visit here.
Peralta, who turned-over 382 boxes of tomato juice and hundreds of sacks of used clothes to the Alaminos City government, said that the barangay captains already knew the whole process and that part of their job to is maintain an open line of communication with the city officials.
“But sometimes they tend to ignore it because of some personal or even due to political reasons,” she stressed.
And as a consequence, their affected constituents were being deprived of the assistance they deserved in the first place.
The assistant regional director stressed that the reports will really come from the barangays.
CSWD will then validate the report before forwarding the final report to the DSWD provincial office and all the way to the regional and central office.
If it didn`t reach supposed beneficiaries, it`s CSWD nor city government or DSWD regional are be blamed but their barangay leaders who remiss of there duties," she added in reaction to few complaints that some barangays were not given assistance by the DSWD.
In some cases, upon validating the report, only few were declared as beneficiaries because the report submitted was not credible. Sometimes, it also depends on the allocated budget.
“DSWD Regional Field Office I acted with dispatch on your request for assistance because your CSWD immediately forwarded the reports you have submitted to them,” said Peralta who was accompanied by Roldan Cadag of DSWD Central Office.
It can be recalled that Mayor Hernani A. Braganza handed a copy of damage report and personally appealed for help from DSWD Regional Director Leonardo C. Reynoso during the latter`s visit here a day after deadly typhoon Emong pummeled the city.
It was on the said visit that hundreds of relief packs from DSWD were likewise turned-over to the city which was immediately distributed to the typhoon victims here.
Last week, P 1.538M worth of Emergency Shelter Assistance and Cash for Work were distributed to homeless city residents at the Don Leopoldo Sison Auditorium.
Peralta said additional assistance from DSWD central office will soon be arriving for the Emong victims.
“And just in case there`s more for Alaminos, I am now asking our barangay leaders to give priority to other victims who didn’t receive any assistance from us, the city government or other benevolent groups.”
In reaction to some complaints that reached her office, she likewise stressed that typhoon Emong did not discriminate as he urged the barrio chiefs to refrain from politicking.
“I am sure Mayor Nani Braganza and our volunteers in the aftermath of typhoon didn`t check whether the victims they are aiding are rich or poor or an ally or a foe,” she added.
She pointed out that everybody deserves assistance during calamities.
Like the Alaminos government, DSWD is extending its assistance to the affected families irregardless of who they are in the community and whatever is there political color.
As we have seen earlier in your video presentation, there are a lot of things to be done to fully fix the damages left by the typhoon in your city,” stressed Cadag.
He said that the central office had released more than P 10 M shelter assistance and disaster relief to 6 towns in the first district which were battered by the recent typhoon.
“With the help of our barangay officials and other government agencies or generous groups, we assure the city government of DSWD central office` continued support and assistance to the affected families,” he added.
For the city`s continued support and assistance to the city, CSWD chief Imelda Ruiz, thanked the DSWD in behalf of Mayor Hernani A. Braganza who is currently following up several projects and other requests for the city in Metro Manila.
Ruiz said Alaminos is fortunate to be included in agency`s priority list of beneficiaries.
“We are hoping that DSWD will continue to help us in the future because there are so many things that are still needed in our barangays.” (CIO)
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