WFP extends cash assistance to Kristine-ravaged Bicol communities

A landslide on the riverside of Barangay San Francisco, Guinobatan town, Albay province, caused some residents to evacuate after Typhoon 'Kristine' struck the province with heavy rains and strong winds on Tuesday, October 22, 2024. --MARK ALVIC ESPLANA

The Philippine government is continuing to receive support from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in helping communities, particularly in the Bicol Region, recover from the devastation wrought by Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine.”

The WFP has started providing P3,300 in financial assistance to each of the 14,500 households with children under 5 years old in Albay and Camarines Sur provinces. The same amount will be given to the same families again next month, according to the United Nations office in Manila.

The recipients are also those registered under the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) social assistance program.

“In the aftermath of Kristine, cash assistance serves as a critical lifeline for affected communities to help address some of their most urgent needs – whether food, medicine, or shelter materials. We are working alongside the Philippine government to support the most impacted communities and by partnering with the DSWD and the 4Ps program, cash has begun to reach people in a matter of days,” WFP Philippines representative and country director Regis Chapman said in a statement.

The WFP also recognized the subsequent impacts caused by Typhoons Leon and Merce.

The cash assistance is on top of the other assistance the WFP has extended, such as providing transportation support for the delivery of 105,300 government food packs to 526,000 people in the Bicol Region.

“We are grateful for the continued support and partnership with the World Food Programme in our efforts to provide immediate relief to communities affected by severe tropical storm Kristine. Through these cash transfers, we are addressing urgent needs, and by using established social protection mechanisms of the 4Ps, we have been able to deliver assistance quickly and effectively,” said DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian.

The South Korean embassy in Manila made a donation of P29 million to the WFP last week to aid in its recovery efforts.