Families of landslide victims in Leyte get cash assistance from PAGCOR

The families of close to 200 individuals who either perished or disappeared following a landslide in a village here in April received financial assistance from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). The distribution of cash aid was held at the city’s gymnasium from October 11 to 13, 2022.

PAGCOR released P5.5 million or P30,000 to each fatality case. The cash donations were handed to the victims’ surviving kin. The victims perished when incessant heavy rains brought by Typhoon Agaton on April 10, 2022 caused a huge portion of a mountain bounding Barangay Kantagnos and other small communities to cave in and bury the entire village under slosh of mud and other debris.

Former caregiver Rogelio Managbanag, Jr., who lost ten of his family members, seven of whom were never found, received a total of P300,000 from the state-run gaming firm. Managbanag was working in Manila and had never seen his family in five years when the tragedy struck at around 6 a.m. on that fateful day.

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Managbanag got the shock of his life when he was informed later that his parents and other loved ones were among the fatalities in the landslide.

PAGCOR’s Assistant VP for Community Relations and Services Eric Balcos, who led the distribution of cash assistance to the recipients, said the agency’s provision of financial aid to the families of the landslide victims was meant to assuage the burden of losing their loved ones and help them start afresh in life.

“No amount of cash could actually compensate the loss of a family member especially in a tragic incident, but in our own little way, we would like to help the surviving kin of the landslide victims go on with their lives, hence this financial assistance from our agency,” he explained.