Zamboanga City – With the aim of bridging communication gaps between service providers and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Zamboanga City, the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office 9 (DSWD) with the City Government of Zamboanga and other organizations conducted series of information caravan (Infocar) in evacuations centers.
Said caravan is an initiative of the Communications Working Group (CWG) to further bring together the IDPs and all agencies involved in the recovery and rehabilitation effort in one forum where all issues and concerns will be properly ventilated.
Majority of the IDPs’ issues were on food, shelter and relocation, livelihood and other assistance.
DSWD Regional Director Zenaida Arevalo, who spoke personally to the IDPs, clarified that assistance by the department were not discontinued but have been regulated as other non-government organizations have assured to implement programs such as Cash-for-Work (CFW) and Food-for-Work as (FFW).
“Ang DSWD ay naka-focus ngayon sa mga transitory sites, dahil aming inaasam na mabawasan ang mga nakatira sa JFE Sports Complex nang matugunan at mapabuti ang kondisyon ng paninirahan doon.” (Currently, DSWD is focused on the transitory sites as we are hoping to decongest the JFE Sports Complex to improve the living conditions in this area.) Dir. Arevalo said, during the infocaravan at Talon-talon Elementary School last Saturday (March 14).
Zamboanga City Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco gave a brief background on the Z3R efforts of the government. It basically underscores the goal of building a better place for those affected by the crisis.
The Roadmap to recovery and rehabilitation (Z3R), approved by President Aquino last December 2013, aims for better housing and better communities for a better Zamboanga.
Planned house structures and services were presented by the City’s Planning Office and National Housing Authority. These include the Home Materials Assistance (HMA) program where clients can avail of construction materials of up to P30,000. Said assistance shall be through a voucher that can be claimed at a local hardware.
No build zone
According to Col. Andrelino Colina of the Task Force Zamboanga, residents from Leja-leja, Layag-layag and Sumatra will no longer be allowed to reside in the said areas as these are being closely monitored by the authorities.
The officer appealed to the residents for their understanding on this matter saying that the ‘people’s safety is our priority’. However, these residents are permitted to tend to their ‘seaweed farming’ during the day but will be asked to leave when nighttime comes.
An open forum at the end of the program, provided an opportunity for the IDPs to air more of their concerns which are being responded outrightly by the resource persons.
The CWG initiated the first infocar at JFE Sports Complex. Same activity will also be done in other evacuation centers soon.
CWG is composed of DSWD, PIA, City Information Office, International Organization for Migration and other humanitarian organizations.###