Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman bared that there are 249 more Filipino deportees from Sabah, Malaysia who arrived on March 19 in Tawi-Tawi.  The deportees were immediately given stress debriefing, counselling services, and relief assistance to augment support for their daily basic needs.

As of March 20, 2013, a total 1,319 families composed of 3,704 Filipino returnees from Sabah arrived in Tawi-Tawi and Sulu provinces.  Of the total returnees, 613 families with 1,644 persons are in Tawi-Tawi, while 706 families with 2,060 persons are in Sulu.

“The DSWD was able to provide more than P7.9M worth of relief assistance to these 1,319 families.  The relief goods consist of sacks of rice, boxes of sardines and corned beef, mineral water, boxes of milk, and family food packs,” Secretary Soliman said.

The Department also provides transportation assistance to facilitate the families’ return to their respective hometowns. “Those returnees who do not have places to stay yet are housed in the evacuation centers,” Secretary Soliman added.

Meanwhile, the One-Stop Shop Processing Center (OSSPC) will be established in Taganak, Tawi-Tawi to facilitate the needed services to Filipino returnees. This is in coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Bureau of Immigration, and the Department of Labor and Employment.

“The OSSPC will be open 24/7 to Filipino returnees to readily assist on their stay at the evacuation centers, provide psychosocial interventions, facilitate the issuance of legal documents, provide livelihood, capability building, and entrepreneurship skills, and give immediate referrals for local employment,” Secretary Soliman said. ###