Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr has ordered key shelter agencies to find a way to ue their budgets to help women and children in Marawi’s evacuation centers, a statement from the Office of the Cabinet Secretary said Sunday.

In a special meeting on June 21, Evasco convened the housing agencies under the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council “to initiate discussions on the government’s reconstruction efforts.’

“To achieve this, the funds allocated for Gender and Development (GAD) from each agency will be mobilized to address the particular needs of women affected by the conflict,” the statement said.

Evasco instructed key HUDCC shelter agencies to find a way to reallocate up to half of their GAD budgets and all remaining unused GAD funds from previous years to provide for the particular needs of women in evacuation centers.

Options such as providing hygiene kits and psychosocial support services are being considered, the statement said.

Key shelter agencies include the National Housing Authority, Social Housing Finance Corporation, Home Development Mutual Fund or known as Pag-Ibig Fund, Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, Home Guarantee Corporation and the National Home Mortgage Corp.

Under Republic Act 9710, government agencies must allot at least five percent of its total budget for GAD programs addressing gender issues and concerns. DMS