The Department of Social Welfare and Development has allocated more than P39 million for 15,284 qualified beneficiaries of the Risk Resiliency Program-Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation-Disaster Risk Reduction (RRP-CCAM-DRR) Program.
The RRP-CCAM-DRR seeks to cultivate awareness and responsibility of its beneficiaries on the country’s plight on climate change.
As a member agency of the National Cabinet Cluster on CCAM-DRR, the DSWD spearheads community-based projects that employ indigents and vulnerable individuals living along disaster-prone areas such as risky river basins.
Given the region’s high susceptibility and exposure to hazards, the six provinces of the Cordillera were prioritized under the program.
“Through the years, climate change has contributed to the escalation of natural hazards that resulted in lost lives, livelihood, and economic distress. The incident in Itogon, Benguet has been one of the biggest manifestations of such. We would never want that to happen again,” DSWD-Cordillera Director Arnel B. Garcia said.
Projects under the RRP-CCAM-DRR seek to provide a 10-day temporary source of income to the beneficiaries.
This semester, payout for the first batch of beneficiaries in Abra, Apayao, Kalinga, and Ifugao was conducted on May 25 to 28 with P4.917M for 1,892 beneficiaries.
“We are employing a cash for work modality as an effective means to stimulate the DRR-CCAM program that is realistic to the needs of our beneficiaries. Through the cash for work, our beneficiaries will identify projects such as improvement of drainage canals, slope protection, tree planting, and improvement of irrigation that can be beneficial to their communities in terms of climate change and disaster risk reduction,” Garcia added.
Garcia said the formula to reduce disaster risk is to increase the capacity and lessen the exposure of the vulnerable members of the community.
“We would like to commend the local government units and the communities who participate in this endeavor. We will continue to work with you to create a safe, sustainable, and disaster-resilient Cordillera. – Angela M. Ocawe
