ILOILO CITY: Fifty-five homeowners from this city whose houses were completely engulfed by fire were among the first recipients of the Integrated Disaster Shelter Assistance Program (IDSAP) of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD). Each beneficiary received PHP15,000 in aid during a ceremony on Thursday at the DHSUD Regional Office 7 at Gaisano Timesquare. 'It was only implemented this year. This is for beneficiaries affected by calamities, flooding, fire, typhoon, volcanic eruption, and other disasters --natural and man-made. We only cater to totally damaged houses,' DHSUD Regional Director for Western Visayas Eva Maria Marfil said in an interview. She said the program is open to owners only. DHSUD has an allocation of PHP200 million nationwide in the first year of the program implementation. The beneficiaries of the PHP825,000 cash aid were from Barangay Airport in Mandurriao district whose houses were gutted in an early morning fire on March 5, 2024, leaving some PHP2.1 mil lion in damage. 'For Region 6, this is our first release. We have on standby for release for Roxas City for 82 house owners,' she said, adding that they hoped to release the PHP1.23 million aid next week. One of the IDSAP recipients, Rogelio Abria Sr., 71, said the fire destroyed four houses in their compound, including those of his children. He will use the assistance to purchase materials for their house since the private lot owner allowed them to build a temporary shelter n the area where they used to stay. Another recipient, Jobelyn Ruda, 38, said she was able to only bring to safety her children because her husband was working when the incident happened. 'This is already a big help. I will use this to buy for our needs at home,' she said in dialect. Source: Philippines News Agency