By
Jocelyn P. Alvarez
ZAMBOANGA CITY - The
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-IX will be conducting a
mass registration of Displaced Persons (DPs) and families affected by Sabah
conflict. The MR will be conducted starting August 5 to 9, 2013.
DSWD-IX
Regional Information Officer Narabelle Z. Bue said the department is currently
preparing concrete and complete data banking of Sabah DPs to pinpoint and
identify their whereabouts and their total number (population) in the region.
“The data that DSWD will be able to
generate will help us pinpoint who and where the Sabah DPs are in the region,”
RIO Bue said.
Bue
said the data collected “may also be
used as basis for the formulation and conceptualization of programs and
projects for their benefit.”
The
profile may serve as a guide in the department’s efforts and even other
agencies and organizations goal to assist the Sabah DPs in the region and as a basis in formulating and
developing policies and programs intended for them.
The
MR targets Sabah DPs who failed or refused to register in the “One-Stop Shop
Processing Center (OSPC) set up by DSWD in Taganak Island.
“Ang
nangyari kasi sila (DPs) mismo, they refused government help, o baka napapagod
sila sa proseso kaya umuwi sila on their own, sakay ng bangka, kung baga nag
“back-door” sila pabalik, di sila sumakay ng commercial vessel being provided to
them by the government (What happened was they refused government help
themselves. Perhaps, they got tired of the process, they went home on their own
using other boats and not the commercial vessels provided for them),” Bue
explained.
“We
call on all those affected by the Sabah conflict which started March of this
year, we are reaching out to them, encouraging them to please register with the
DSWD offices in your area so you may be included in government assistance
intended for your benefit,” Bue
appealed.
Bue
advises DPs to bring proof or travel documents upon registration.
The
mass registration will be conducted in the cities of Zamboanga, Pagadian,
Dipolog, Dapitan, and Isabela and in Liloy, Zamboanga Del Norte and Ipil,
Zamboanga Sibugay. (PIA9)