Red Cross-Kalinga monitors shelter assistance

TABUK, Kalinga -- The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Kalinga Chapter is monitoring the implementation of its shelter aid program that benefited 1,200 families whose houses were damaged by typhoon Juan last October.

PRC-Kalinga Chapter head Glorina Reyes said the monitoring is part of the International Red Cross policy to find out whether the materials are properly used for repairs of damaged houses.

Part of the monitoring includes checking if cases of selling of materials by recipients take place as reported in other areas. In Kalinga, no case of selling has been reported so far, Reyes said.

Reyes added that the release of materials for the first batch of 342 and second batch of 321 beneficiaries have already been made while release for the remaining batches may extend until January.

At least 36 barangays in the province were affected and are the beneficiaries of this project: 23 in the town of Tabulk, 10 in Rizal, and three in Pinukpuk.

Beneficiaries under the Red Cross shelter aid program get P7,000 worth of construction materials for partial repair and P35,000 for full repair. Labor is the counterpart of beneficiaries. Reyes said there were 200 families given full repair assistance.

Beneficiaries of this aid, according to Reyes, are indigent families who could not afford to pay for the repair of their houses, stressing that reimbursements of expenses by those who were able to spend for the repairs of their houses were not accommodated. (Larry Lopez)