The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) 5 (Bicol) confirmed on Wednesday that a PHP15 million emergency shelter response fund has been allotted for families whose homes were destroyed by Super Typhoon Pepito (international name Man-yi) in Catanduanes province.

In an interview, DHSUD-5 director lawyer Richard Manila said the assistance was allocated for housing materials and essentials to be distributed to affected households in the province.

“For the housing materials and essentials (HOME), we have earmarked PHP15 million and cash assistance of PHP10,000 and PHP30,000 for partially damaged and totally damaged houses through the Integrated Disaster Shelter Assistance Program (IDSAP),” he said.

Manila personally visited Catanduanes and reported to Governor Joseph Cua the initial assistance ready for victims of Pepito.

“The local chief executives (LCEs) of the 11 towns and Governor Joseph Cua were able to tell us what they need. Most of them need construction materials for them to rebuild their homes destroyed by Pepito,” he said.

Manila said the HOME or the home repair kit includes eight pieces of galvanized iron sheets, 10 pieces of one-fourth plywood, 24 pieces of lumber, and two kilograms of nails.

He said the home repair kit can help build a temporary shelter for the typhoon victims.

“For the IDSAP, they need to comply with the requirements needed, such as a letter request from the chief executives, disaster reports, and beneficiary eligibility sheets that need to be filled out by the LGUs (local government units) as the basis of our validation team,” he said.

Manila said that once the LGUs submit their request, they could start processing the cash assistance under IDSAP. (PNA)