By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD City – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-6 has distributed financial assistance totaling P971,364 to thousands of individuals displaced by last week’s armed conflicts in Toboso town and Escalante City, Negros Occidental.
Over the weekend, the Disaster Response Management Division (DRMD) of DSWD-6 delivered cash aid to more than 1,000 internally displaced individuals (IDPs) across the two affected localities.
Reports from the Local City Social Welfare and Development Offices (LSWDOs) of Escalante City and Toboso town, referenced by DSWD-6, indicate that 268 families, comprising 1,092 individuals, were impacted, with some continuing to shelter in evacuation centers.
In addition to the support from local government units (LGUs), the department’s DRMD Disaster Response Section supplied the affected residents with 366 family food packs, 183 hygiene kits, and 183 sleeping kits.
Atty. Carmelo Nochete, the DSWD-6 director, stated that the DSWD Field Office-VI stands in solidarity with the responding LGUs.
“We cannot imagine the trauma experienced by families, especially children, during the exchange of gunfire. Rest assured that our office will continue to provide support,” Nochete assured.
Clashes in Barangay Pinapugasan, Escalante City began on February 21, resulting in the deaths of three suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.
Armed encounters persisted into the following day, culminating in an evening airstrike by the Army’s 79th Infantry Battalion (IB) targeting the remnants of the dismantled Northern Negros Front (NNF)-D.
The conflict left three soldiers and a Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) Active Auxiliary (CAA) member injured.
DSWD personnel visited the evacuation centers to conduct assessments and interviews with IDPs to ascertain their needs and plan further interventions.
Social Welfare Officers Frenz Ernan Orbista and Jan Kristoffer Fetalsana from the DSWD DRMD Disaster Response Section also offered technical assistance to LSWDOs in managing the evacuation sites, implementing Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM), and upholding IDP Protection principles.
