Sendong survivors still need help

CLOSE to 200 survivors of tropical storm Sendong staged a protest in front of the City Social Welfare Office Tuesday morning to express their dismay of the office’s seeming neglect to flood survivors who opted to remain in their communities in the city.

Rhodora Bulosan, chairperson of the Collective Survivors of Sendong (CSS), said they have been asking for help from the City Government after the disaster but were left hanging.

“While relief goods overflowed in evacuation centers, those who went back to their houses were hard pressed in looking for their daily needs,” Bulosan said in a statement.

She said that even up to now, data remained incompatible between the city social welfare office and the regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

“Some names could be in one’s office list but not in another. In barangays Carmen, Pagatpat, Kauswagan, Consolacion, Puntod and Tablon alone, Survivor's Collectives members comprised of 407 families alleged they were handed relief assistance only once,” Bulosan said. “We demand equal treatment of Sendong survivors. We do not want to be led to mendicancy, that's why we also ask for livelihood assistance.”

City Administrator Leon Gan gathered the leaders of the group and held an impromptu dialogue right beside the picket lines.

Gan appealed to the group to submit the list of those who were affected by the typhoon but were not given assistance by the City Government.

He said he will order the office of the City Social Welfare to reevaluate and immediately implement cash and livelihood assistance after the assessment is done.

Bulosan said they are hoping the City Government would keep its promises.

“We will comply with what has been asked and submit a list of those affected who were not included in the database and were not given assistance,” she said.

The CSS has more than 4,000 member families in Barangays Carmen, Pagatpat, Kauswagan, Consolacion, Puntod and Tablon.

The group earlier staged protest at the DSWD regional office as they called for the seeming “political barrier” between the personnel of DSWD and that of CSWD. (With reports from MindaNews)