P3B aid given to WV indigents

BACOLOD CITY — A financial aid, amounting to close to P3 billion, is being released by the Department of Social Welfare and Development for indigent families, fishermen, farmers, and senior citizens in Western Visayas this year.

 DSWD-6 regional director Minda Brigoli said recently that about P270 million was already released to poor farmers and fisher folk in this region, to augment their daily expenses for the lean months, she said. Of this amount, P95 million will go to Negros Occidental, she said.

 The subsidy will provide poor farmers and fisher folk P233 a day, which is the prevailing minimum wage, for 11 consecutive days, on condition that they will learn, via training by the government, new skills in agriculture and on ways to mitigate disasters.

 Brigoli said there are about 186,000 beneficiaries in Western Visayas for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) each of who will receive between P1,100 to P1,400 a month for a total of about P2.4 billion this year.

 The DSWD-6 has so far identified about 10,000 indigent senior citizens in Western Visayas to be covered by the social pension and the number could increase, Brigoli said. The "super senior citizens" will receive P500 a month, or a total of about P60,000,000 a year, she said.

The DSWD-6 is also providing supplemental feeding to 5,448 day care centers in Western Visayas with 171,000 children through hot meals for 120 days costing about P300 million.— Danny B. Dangcaoan