ILOILO City — The red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) outbreak has affected more than 301,000 people across Western Visayas and the Negros Island Region, prompting the government to extend nearly P65 million in assistance to affected communities.
Data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DSWD-DROMIC) showed that 301,084 individuals from 74,115 families in 909 barangays had been affected as of 6 a.m. on Aug. 20.
Communities in Iloilo and Capiz in Western Visayas, as well as Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental in the Negros Island Region, are among those dealing with the effects of the agricultural pest.
The DSWD has so far released P64.86 million in humanitarian assistance for affected families.
Despite the scale of the infestation, authorities recorded no displacement of families and no damage to houses.
The RSSI problem was reported to have intensified in Panay town, Capiz, beginning June 1. By July, the infestation had become widespread in the Negros Island Region, one of the country’s major sugar-producing areas.
The outbreak poses a particular threat to communities that depend on sugarcane farming for their livelihood. RSSI feeds on sugarcane plants and can weaken crops, potentially reducing production and farmers’ incomes when infestations become severe.
The growing number of affected communities has prompted government agencies and the sugar industry to intensify efforts to control the pest and limit further damage to plantations.
Aside from assistance already distributed, the DSWD reported having about P4.6 billion in relief resources available for disaster response. These include P714.54 million under its Quick Response Fund and about P3.88 billion worth of food and non-food supplies./PN
