THE Cagayan de Oro City Government is preparing a send-off activity for the evacuees temporarily living in the city, some of whom are set to return to Marawi City next week.
City Social Welfare and Development (CSWD) head Teddy Sabuga-a said the activity, called Kambalingan, which means "to return," is an activity initiated by the Task Force Marawi to welcome the displaced evacuees.
He said it is a consolidated effort to clear the affected areas, bring evacuees back to their homes, and help them get back on their feet.
"Nangutana ko sa Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) kung unsa na ang plano sa normalization kay kita dinhi, although welcome sila diri, pero it requires too much work for my staff, so we asked the DSWD kung unsa ang next step, especially kay naa nay 9 barangays gi announce nga allowed na mamalik ang uban IDPs didto (We have been asking guidance from the DSWD. We asked them what the next step is. Although evacuees are welcome, taking care of their needs is taxing for the CSWD. We want to know what is next since they announced that villagers can now return to 9 villages)," he said.
Sabuga-a said the Task Force Marawi has announced that villages Matampay, Tampilong, Pangao Saduc, Sabar, Marawi Poblacion, Green, East Basak, Basak Malutlut, and Liksa Datu are now safe for the evacuees to return.
Sabuga-a said that Monday next week, a coordination meeting with different agencies will be conducted to dialogue with imams here in order to consolidate the numbers of evacuees who are still here in the city.
Upon return of the evacuees, he said the DSWD will provide a sack of rice, hygiene kit, kitchen utensils, and financial assistance for the evacuees in Marawi.
"We will also be accepting donations from different organizations here in the city for their transportation and food," he said.
To date, the city has over 6,488 families or 19,464 evacuees.
The DSWD Saturday, has given P2,000 cash assistance to each of the 1,678 evacuees from Marawi who participated in the agency's 10-day work program offered especially for the evacuees.
The DSWD, through its counterpart City Social Welfare and Development Office, allocated P4 million for the evacuees enrolled in the Urban Container Household Gardening, or their 10 days of work rendered.
The urban container gardening program requires evacuees to do organic gardening in a small plot of land within their temporary homes or plant in plastic and other unused containers.