A 24/7 schedule. This is the commitment of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan as it opened its Operations Center there to assist both workers and residents who will be affected by the impending 6-month closure of Boracay beginning April 26. Since last Friday, DSWD Field Office (FO) VI staff have interviewed and assessed 300 workers and residents for the provision of appropriate assistance.
DSWD OIC Emmanuel Leyco said, “we have deployed Crisis Intervention Unit (CIU) teams to document the status of affected workers and residents, and we observed that people are very busy trying to earn as much as they can before the island’s closure on the 26th . We have reached out to Boracay workers and explained to them the forms of assistance the DSWD can provide them, but many said that they will use the remaining days to work so they can earn more money they can use after the island closes.”
The DSWD’s FO VI and its Social Welfare and Development (SWAD) Team based in Aklan, has been monitoring the situation in Boracay for the last three weeks and has implemented reach out operations in the community to document the impact of the closure on the lives and livelihood of the poeple. According to FO VI Regional Director Rebecca, the DSWD has earmarked P1 million as a standby fund for the Boracay operations and is processing the release of another P5 million. This is from the field office’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) fund.
Among the tasks the agency has taken on is to coordinate with the managements of both big and small hotels as well as other business establishments that will close operations beginning April 26. Available data from DOLE states that there are over 100 said establishments on the island employing at least 30,000 people.
The whole day today and in the next days, the DSWD will be releasing transportation and other assistance to workers and residents who previously migrated from other islands and regions and who have decided to exit the island on or before the 26th.
The requests for transportation assistance range from P1,000 to P5,000 per individual.
Hotel workers have been given time by the management of their respective establishments to leave work so they can process their requests for transportation assistance from the DSWD. The Department’s team in Boracay will be coordinating with more hotels, resorts, and establishments in the coming days leading to the island’s closure to assist more workers who may need assistance.
Among those who availed of transportation assistance from the DSWD is Lester Casumpang, 31 years old, an employee of Villa de Oro Beach Resort. Lester has been working at the resort for three years. Due to the closure of Boracay, he was advised, together with his co-workers, to go back to their respective provinces for now as the resort will stop its operations for 6 months. Lester will go back to his hometown in Sapian, province of Capiz within the week.
OIC Leyco said that the DSWD will extend what help is within its mandate to Boracay residents and workers who will seek assistance regardless of whether they are from the formal or informal sector.
“We want to help as many affected residents as possible because we understand the highly difficult circumstances that they are their families are facing because of the impending closure. They are losing their means of livelihood, and they need all the help that they can get. The DSWD and other government agencies will do what it can to assist the residents,” he said.
“We are also prepared to release family food packs as well as hygiene kits to families that need them.” he added. #
