Through the Risk Resiliency Program, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office VII released cash subsidies to 794 beneficiaries from the Cebu and Lapu-Lapu cities on October 20 and 22, 2023.

Of the total number of beneficiaries, 318 implemented the Gubat sa Baha: Bantay ug Limpyo sa Sapa Project of Cebu City, while the 476 are of the Basic Life Support and Fire Fighting Rescue Training and Guso Farming Projects, both implemented in Lapu-Lapu City.

Each beneficiary received Php 4,350.00 for a ten-day duty with the prevailing regional wage rate of Php 435.00. DSWD Field Office 7 released Php 3,453,900.00 for the RRP cash subsidy.

Cebu City’s Gubat sa Baha: Bantay ug Limpyo sa Sapa Project

With 318 identified beneficiaries, the Local Government Unit of Cebu City prioritized the implementation of their “Gubat sa Baha: Limpyo ug Bantay sa Sapa” Project, which started in August.

The beneficiaries were spread-out to clean and restore the Bulacao, Guadalupe, Kinalumsan, Mahiga, Butuanon, Lahug, and Estero de Parian rivers to improve the situation of these city rivers through dredgings, clean-ups, and setting of various mitigation measures.

The project is also part of the city’s action to lessen the current problem of flooding and overflowing situations through unclogging the rivers.

Prior to this set of beneficiaries, 65 beneficiaries already implemented the same project for the Tagunol Creek. The DSWD 7 distributed to them the cash subsidy in late August.

The identified beneficiaries are those living near the river and are vulnerable to disasters.

Lapu-Lapu City’s Basic Life Support and Fire Fighting Rescue Training and Guso Farming

The local government of Lapu-Lapu City placed emphasis on the importance of basic life support, firefighting rescue training, and the advantages of guso farming.

Of the 476 beneficiaries, 197 from Olango Island trained in guso farming. The remaining 279 on the mainland gained basic life support and firefighting rescue skills.

The Basic Life Support and Fire Fighting Rescue Training aimed to successfully equip and prepare the beneficiaries to effectively demonstrate their skills should emergencies arise in their communities when LGU responders are not yet on site.

Meanwhile, the Lapu-Lapu LGU identified guso farming as advantageous to the residents of Barangay Sabang in Olango Island because of its high market demand and impact on biodiversity as it eliminate dynamite fishing.

The beneficiaries created seven (7) guso nurseries after undergoing theoretical training and actual fieldwork.

The RRP is a convergence program that will operationalize the Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation, and Disaster Risk Reduction (CCAM-DRR) Cabinet Cluster to have climate- and disaster-resilient communities. The program provides a temporary income opportunity in exchange for community work or building their capacities for disaster mitigation and management through livelihood opportunities and skills training.

Identified priority areas are selected based on criteria wherein an LGU is highly susceptible to climate hazards, situated in a critical watershed and /or major water basin, a 4th–6th class city or municipality, or a major urban center, has a high poverty incidence with convergence sites, has priority needs identified by the Cabinet Cluster, and agrees to meet the conditions specified by the program. ###

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