KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 4 February) — The Sultan Kudarat provincial government has reached out to the national government to extend ₱5,000 to around 11,600 families affected by the earthquake swarm that hit its coastal towns in the last two weeks.
This developed as the local government unit of Datu Blah Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, banned fishing activities in its coastal waters during night time due to the series of earthquakes in the area.
Sultan Kudarat Gov. Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Secretary Rex Gatchalian, of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), to immediately release emergency cash assistance to his constituents affected by the earthquakes.
“Fishing and many other livelihoods were put on hold by the earthquakes. I lobbied with the DSWD for the immediate release of emergency cash assistance to all of the 11,600 families,” he said in Filipino.
For the last two weeks, classes in all levels and work in government offices were ordered suspended mainly in the coastal towns of Kalamansig, Lebak and Palimbang (Kalepa) due to the quakes, which also disrupted livelihoods as the local government units ordered the preemptive evacuations of residents in coastal villages. Fishing activities were also temporarily prohibited in the area.
Mangudadatu said that Gatchalian “assured him that the agency will extend financial assistance” to the quake-affected residents.
The governor added that he is also getting in touch with the Office of the President to seek Marcos’s help.
Based on the latest February 1 list, the provincial government recorded about 11,600 families or around 35,000 individuals affected by the quakes in the Kalepa area, he said.
Mangudadatu said the beneficiaries of the emergency cash assistance that he is seeking were recorded by the DSWD-12 and the provincial disaster risk reduction and management office.
In a January 29 report, the DSWD-12 recorded 13,192 families or 59,185 individuals affected by the series of earthquakes since January 19. The figure included those from Kalepa and neighboring Datu Blah Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte.
Irene Dillo, head of the Datu Blah Sinsuat Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) , told the Oblates-owned DXMS Radyo Bida in Cotabato City that fishing at night has been temporarily prohibited since last week for the safety of the fishermen.
She said the measure was among the recommendations of the MDRRM Council.
The Datu Blah Sinsuat MDRRMO listed some 2,000 families in the town were affected by the series of earthquakes in the area.
As of 11:05 Wednesday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology recorded six earthquakes off the coasts of Kalamansig town, with a magnitude ranging from 1.7 to 3.1. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
