June 14, 2014 — About 100 farmers picketed the office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Tacloban City to demand their share of relief goods but officials turned them down because they were not in the list of families affected by Typhoon Yolanda, a senior official said on Friday.
DSWD Regional director Nestor Ramos said members of the People Surge, an alliance of Typhoon Yolanda survivors in Eastern Visayas, demanded but failed to get food packs and 25 kilos of rice because they could not produce the required validated list.
“The DSWD did not receive report of damages as well as the list of affected families from the local government units,” said Ramos, who met with eight leaders of the group during the rally.
Many of the farmers came from the towns Pinabacdao and Calbiga in Samar. They fear of hunger until the next harvest season because their crops were destroyed by the typhoon.
The list of affected families serve as basis to claim for assistance, according to Ramos. But he could not explain why they were unable to get the list from town and city officials.
Ramos said the farmers will get their food packs as soon as the DSWD received from the local government units the validated list of families affected by the typhoon. - Manila Standard Today