DSWD drafts 'action plan' for Pinoys from Sabah

MANILA, Philippines - Local government agencies in Zamboanga Peninsula and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) are drafting an action plan to assist Filipinos who have returned from Sabah, Malaysia due to the standoff between Malaysian forces and supporters of the Sultanate of Sulu.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said that 50 representatives from Caraga and ARMM recently met in Zamboanga City to draft the action plan, which would include contributions and possible programs from the different line agencies that could be implemented and provided to families returning from Sabah.

The DSWD said that as of April 5, a total of 5,439 have returned from Sabah.

“The need to converge and pool our resources as well as synchronize our activities is a demand that we need to address," said DSWD Undersecretary Parisya Hashim-Taradji.

The DSWD said that part of the plan was to issue a "Family Access Card" to displaced persons upon their arrival from Sabah to any point in Mindanao.

Aside from ensuring that the needed services will be provided for the affected Filipinos, the access cards would also prevent the duplication of availment of the services.

It said that the issuance of color-coded access cards would also systematize the provision of relief, transportation, shelter assistance and cash-for-work to the displaced families.

Undersecretary Taradji said that the DSWD will also deploy 12 social workers to Sabah to reinforce the efforts of staff currently assisting the affected Filipinos.

In addition to that, the agency would also deploy a four-man team to Tawi-Tawi and Sulu from April 9 to 13. The team would undertake needs assessment and contingency planning for the continued arrival of displaced Filipinos from Sabah.

To date, a total of P10.4 million worth of humanitarian aid, including relief packs, hygiene kits, and transportation assistance, have been provided to the affected families.

Meanwhile, the DSWD said that a One-Stop Processing Center (OSPC) has been set up in Taganak, Tawi-Tawi to facilitate long-term interventions. Two phases are involved in the process--Phase I wherein DSWD is in charge of the process and Phase II which is where the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) comes in.

Phase I is mainly concerned with the arrival of displaced families to the Philippines. They are immediately attended to as well as interviewed and assessed for appropriate intervention. Phase II highlights the provision of needed assistance to the displaced families.

The process covers three options: the processing of papers for return to employers in Malaysia, the reintegration process for wage employment, and the provision of livelihood assistance (self-employment).

The OSPC mechanism was initially implemented in 1997 when the Federal Government of Malaysia strictly enforced its Immigration Act wherein thousands of Filipinos were deported due to expired work papers, lack of documents and illegal residency status. Sharmaine Tan, Philstar.com Trainee