ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 17, 2013) – Is the government’s cash-for-work program in Zamboanga City working at it should be?
This question was raised after two groups of war refugees, who were taken in for the program as temporary livelihood to help them cope with the difficult financial situation they are in, were spotted going around in villages with their brooms and dust pans as is they are on a parade.
Instead of really cleaning the streets as what they should do, most of the refugees wandered around and chatting as if waiting for their work time to come to an end and go home and wait for the next day until payday comes.
Those who availed the program were residents displaced by three weeks of street battles between separatist Moro National Liberation Front rebels and military forces in September. The fighting killed and wounded over 400 people and more than 120,000 villagers were forced to flee their homes.
Under the program, the Department of Social Welfare and Development pays P214 a day for each refugee for a maximum of 30 days. (Mindanao Examiner)
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