BORACAY ISLAND, Aklan — A total of 1,386 families in Boracay received livelihood assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Western Visayas (DSWD-6) on Friday.
Each recipient received PHP15,000, which they could use for alternative livelihood while the island is closed, said Mary Ann Masculino, regional Sustainable Livelihood Program coordinator of DSWD-6, in an interview.
Masculino said the recipients from the three barangays of Boracay were the sixth batch of beneficiaries to receive livelihood grant from the agency.
A total of PHP20.79 million were released on Friday.
In total, the agency has already released PHP106.78 million to 7,119 recipients affected by the island’s closure.
DSWD targets to provide livelihood grant to more than 10,000 families on the island.
Masculino said the figure was based on those who were given disaster assistance family access cards, which were based on the master list of affected families.
“We aim to provide livelihood assistance to the remaining beneficiaries within this August,” said Masculino.
Some of the remaining recipients already have proposals while others are still under assessment, she added.
Masculino said those who already received livelihood grants are being monitored by the DSWD.
She also clarified that only those who belong to the informal sector or those without employers qualify for the livelihood assistance given by the DSWD.
Aside from the livelihood grant, DSWD also provided financial aid to affected residents and workers in the form of transportation, education, medical and burial assistance.
As of August 9, the DSWD has released a total of PHP41.2 million to 17,018 people as financial aid.
The DSWD has also hired about 2,000 workers for the second batch of its cash-for- work program in Boracay. (Karen Bermejo/PNA)
