‘Pablo’ family heads in Montevista town claim their Cash For Work.

DAVAO City –A total of 44,523 family heads affected by Typhoon Pablo participated in the Cash For Work Program implemented by DSWD, DOLE, International Labor Organization (ILO), Catholic Relief Services, UNDP, Oxfam, DA, and Food and Agriculture Organization.

“Of the 44,523 individuals, 37,453 or 84% worked through the DSWD Cash For Work scheme, 1775 through DOLE, 492 through CRS/UNDP/FAO, 3576 through Oxfam/ILO and 1227 through DA,” explained Nori T. Palarca of ILO and TS Pablo Livelihood Cluster.

According to Palarca, the beneficiaries concentrated on debris clearing which involves segregation, reduction of debris volume on site, recycling and reusing debris, and restoring affected infrastructure and production areas.

Men and women, 18 years old and above and even senior citizens who are still able to perform manual labor were involved in the Cash For Work program.

“We recommend though in the cluster for an assessment of the typhoon’s impact on livelihood for a better understanding of appropriate actions to take towards sustainable livelihood development and recovery. We are also looking into mobilization and organization of communities and preparing them for their active participation,” Palarca added.

Meanwhile, the TS Pablo Shelter Cluster has established and provided 127 bunkhouses, 8874 repair kits, and 60,429 emergency shelter kits in Typhoon Pablo-affected towns in Davao Region. Other ongoing and upcoming interventions for emergency shelter support are 100 shelter units from Filchi, 250 units Debris to Shelter (D2S) from IOM (International Organization for Migration), 100 permanent shelter units from Holcim, 2500 shelter repair kits from Oxfam, 5 duplex units from the Diocese of Tagum, 1000 permanent shelter units from San Miguel Corporation, 4881 shelter kits from DSWD, and 780 permanent shelter units from DSWD.

Mariano V. Nava of IOM and TS Pablo Shelter Cluster said their Cluster has proposed that future Cash For Work activities should be organized around shelter construction (e.g. cutting of lumber, site clearing, etc.) thus providing livelihood and shelter assistance in the same activity.

Consequently, the second round DSWD Cash For Work will be geared towards shelter construction which aptly responds to the proposal of the Shelter Cluster. DSWD