Tagum City – 28 families who are members of the city’s Indigenous Cultural Communities/ Indigenous Peoples were recently made the beneficiaries of the Shelter Assistance Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the City Government of Tagum.

Implemented through the city’s Social Welfare and Development Office under the Grassroots Participatory Budgeting Process, the program is jointly carried out by the DSWD and the local government to provide homes to the 28 families of Indigenous Peoples whose houses were destroyed, either partially or totally, during the onslaught of Typhoon Pablo in 2012.

The joint undertaking, which is pegged at ₱2.6 million, with the City of Tagum pledging the amount of ₱400,000 as its counterpart, is in accordance with the policy of the State to provide shelter to the families/victims whose houses are destroyed by natural or man-made disasters and calamities, and is in line with the City Government’s developmental thrust on Social Services.

Each IP family/beneficiary of the program is estimated to complete the ₱70,000- worth shelter unit within ten days after the implementation of the project and will also be paid the amount of P22,600.00 in exchange for their services or involvement during an 8-hour, 10-day construction work on the aforementioned shelter unit.

The beneficiaries who are all members of the Mansaka tribe from the city’s 4 flood-prone barangays of Pagsabangan, Mankilam, San Miguel and Canocotan were identified and selected by the Datus and Bias of their respective barangays.

The program was implemented during a ground breaking ceremony on May 28, 2015 at the city’s resettlement area at RTU Village, Purok 2, Apokon, Tagum City and was participated in by Tagum City Mayor Allan L. Rellon, DPA, PhD., Hon. Macario Bermudez, Hon. Allan Zulueta, Hon. Francisco Remitar, Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative Damiano Cipro, City ENRO Engr. Elias Ragos, City Engineer Roosevelt Corporal, Local Housing Board’s Engr. Bernardo Castor,  Acting City PDO Arturo Manigo, Acting City GSO Roger Dompol, CSWDO Nora C. Lupiba, RSW, and Brgy. Apokon Captain Bryan Kim Samuel Angoy. (CIO Tagum)