By Pearl Gumapos
The 37 survivors of the July 4 C-130 plane crash in Patikul, Sulu have received cash aid from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region 9.
DSWD Region 9 Disaster Response Management Division information officer Alvin Dacanay said on Monday that each of the 37 survivors received P5,000 cash or a total of P185,000 from DSWD’s Crisis Intervention Unit.
Aside from the cash aid, the recipient-survivors also received family, hygiene, and sleeping kits.
“This is the initiative of the department to immediately assist the survivors in times of traumatic events,” Dacanay said.
Dacanay added that social workers are still conducting assessment to determine the additional assistance the DSWD can extend to the plane crash survivors.
Dacanay said 14 of the 37 survivors were admitted at Camp Navarro General Hospital of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), 22 at the government-owned Zamboanga City Medical Center, and one at the Ciudad Medical Zamboanga, a private hospital.
A total of 96 persons were aboard the C-130 plane with tail number 5125 when it crashed around 11:30 a.m. in Sitio Amman, Barangay Bangkal, Patikul, Sulu from Cagayan de Oro City.
Meanwhile, the analysis on the contents of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) C-130 aircraft’s “black box” that was recovered from the crash site in Patikul, Sulu will take about a month, PAF Spokesperson Lt. Col. Maynard Mariano said last Sunday.
“Sa ngayon, iyong ating black box is on the way papuntang United States. Ito po ay i-a-analyze doon at maghihintay po tayo ng kaunting panahon bago maibalik sa atin,” Mariano said.
Mariano added that while it was still “too early to say” what really caused the incident, authorities are doing everything to fast-track the investigation. – rir
