According to Julia Balesteros, assistant city treasurer, they started the house-to-house distribution of the P5,000 financial assistance each to at least 429 families in Barangays Bakilid, Canduman, Jagobiao, Tawason and Tipolo on Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 26, 2022.
Of the number, Balesteros said 141 are residents of Barangay Jagobiao, 102 of Tipolo, 97 of Tawason, 75 of Canduman and 14 of Bakilid.
Recipients would only need to show their valid identification cards in claiming the assistance.
The assistant city treasurer said the distribution of the assistance in the barangays should be completed within three days, or by Friday, Jan. 28.
With this, Balesteros said there’s no reason for the beneficiaries not to claim the financial assistance since they have been informed about the schedule. She, however, stressed that representatives with authorization may be accommodated or accepted for valid reasons like if the recipients are admitted in hospitals. She further said each barangay has one distribution team that consists of police officers, barangay officials, the City Social Welfare Services and the City Treasurer’s Office personnel.
Balesteros said the presence of police would ensure the safety of the team during the distribution should there be complaints about the assistance.
But lawyer John Eddu Ibañez, executive secretary of Mayor Jonas Cortes, earlier said those who filed petitions for inclusion will be given assistance in another payroll.
Balesteros, however, clarified that there may be additional beneficiaries in Bakilid who are still being validated.
Meanwhile, Balesteros said they will start the distribution in the 22 other barangays once the validation is done and the payroll is already processed.
Based on guidelines from the joint memorandum of the DSWD and the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the target beneficiaries are low income individuals and families severely affected by the typhoon.
Each affected individual will receive P1,000. This means that if a family has three members, they will receive a total of P3,000 with a maximum of P5,000 per family.
If a family has more than five members, only five will be eligible for the cash assistance.