Saturday, September 09, 2006
Gov't assistance to continue even after cash for work project
NUEVA VALENCIA, Guimaras -- Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya said government assistance to the different towns of Guimaras affected by the oil slick will not stop as long as it is needed, even after the Cash for Work Project would no longer be in effect.
Andaya was responding to the many unarticulated questions of the residents of Nueva Valencia and the other barangays affected.
Barangay Salvacion Chairperson Nelfa Gaurana said as long as the jobless fisher folks are engaged in Cash for Work program of Petron and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the effects of the oil spill on their livelihood cannot be intensely felt, but when the project ends, the people will surely feel the pinch of poverty.
About 40 percent of the more than 2,000 population of Barangay Salvacion, the first venue of the National Disaster Coordinating Council Meeting presided by President Arroyo in the island, are dependent on marine resources for their survival.
Gaurana said the economic difficulty of her people has become her personal burden, as almost every morning, they would ask her to give them work, or food to sustain them for the day.
She also said more than relief goods, she would ask the agencies of government for seedlings they can plant in their backyard gardens. Seed capital would also be good.
Gaurana added that with the government’s attention on Guimaras and the funds proposed for its rehabilitation, she can better guide her people to start life again.
The Barangay Salvacion Elementary School and High School cater to the educational needs of more than a thousand students, coming from the barangys of Lapaz, Lanipe, San Roque and Lucmayan, Nueva Valencia.
Gaurana said her people can survive, given the unfailing assistance of the government.
“We have faith, we can go on,” Gaurana said.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also believed so, when she said that the people of Guimaras are resilient, as their government is resolute. (Press release)
(September 9, 2006 issue)
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