PASSI CITY, Iloilo — The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Western Visayas (DSWD-6) has disbursed more than ₱12 million in financial assistance to local sugarcane farmers impacted by the Red-Striped Soft Scale Insect (RSSI) infestation.
Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian headed the cash distribution in Passi City on Monday, October 5. Rolled out through the agency’s Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) initiative, the relief provided ₱10,325 each to 1,163 affected farmers.
DSWD-6 Regional Director Joselito Estember noted that the payout in Passi City followed a similar distribution conducted in Capiz the previous week.
To date, DSWD-6 has handed out over ₱113 million in emergency funds across Western Visayas to support agricultural workers affected by the pest outbreak. Capiz bore the brunt of the damage, receiving the largest share of funding with over ₱100 million distributed to nearly 10,000 sugarcane farmers. The agricultural crisis also prompted the municipality of San Enrique in Iloilo to declare a state of calamity.
DSWD-6 reaffirmed its commitment to providing continued support to affected farming communities in the region.
Joining Gatchalian at the rollout were Disaster Response Management Group Undersecretary Diana Rose Cajipe, Assistant Secretaries Leo Quintilla and Irene Dumlao, DSWD-6 Assistant Regional Director for Operations Katherine Joy Lamprea, and Disaster Response Management Division chief Luna Moscoso. The local government unit of Passi City, headed by Mayor Stephen Palmares, assisted in facilitating the distribution.