By Rjay Zuriaga Castor
El Niño-hit farmers and fisherfolk in Western Visayas will receive financial assistance from the Presidential Assistance to Farmers and Fisherfolk (PAFF) program on Thursday, June 27.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will lead the ceremonial distribution in Antique for Panay Island beneficiaries and in Bacolod City for Negros Occidental.
The Presidential Communications Office stated that at least 61,171 beneficiaries in Western Visayas will avail of the PAFF program.
A total of 30,632 beneficiaries were identified from Iloilo, 8,315 from Negros Occidental, 8,293 from Capiz, 7,067 from Antique, 5,023 from Aklan, and 1,841 from Guimaras.
Governors of Aklan, Capiz, Guimaras, and Iloilo will travel to Antique to receive the presidential aid.
Funded by the Office of the President, PAFF beneficiaries will each receive P10,000 to help cushion the effect of the dry spell on their livelihood.
Aside from cash assistance, the Department of Agriculture (DA) will distribute farm inputs to identified beneficiaries.
Based on the DA-6 report, the months-long El Niño caused around P2.9 billion in losses across the region, heavily affecting rice and corn production. The phenomenon impacted over 84,181 farmers and about 122,702 hectares of farmland.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources also reported that the prolonged dry season brought P49 million worth of damage.
The extended dry season led at least 74 local government units in Western Visayas to declare a state of calamity.
