JOLO, Sulu — Some 500 families from the Sama-Badjao tribe in this province received cash assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development on Wednesday.

DSWD Secretary Ramon Tulfo personally distributed the P10,000 cash assistance to each family as part of the agency's Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program, with Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan assisting him.

The distribution of the money was held at the Sulu Capitol gymnasium in Patikul town in the presence of 19 local mayors and other provincial and municipal officials.

Speaking in Sama and Bajao dialects, Tan appealed to the beneficiaries "not to go to big cities like Manila, Cebu or in Zamboanga City to beg because it is shameful."

Instead, he urged them to just visit him at his office for assistance.

The governor also appealed to them to not use the cash given them by the government for bad vices. He urged them to instead use the money to uplift their living condition.

He suggested that they invest the P10,000 in a business or livelihood.