Aurora — To suss out the beneficiaries, their current status, and the impact of convergence strategy is the very objective of the Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) 3-day Consultation Meeting and Field Visit in the province last March 2-4, 2016.

RAC is composed of the region’s national legislators in the Philippines and selected members of the Regional Development Council (RDC), namely, Commission on Population (PopCom), Departments of Agriculture (DA), Budget and Management (DBM), Education (DepED), Interior and Local Government (DILG), Health (DOH), Labor and Employment (DOLE), Tourism (DOT), Trade and Industry (DTI), Public Works and Highways (DPWH), National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP), National Nutrition Council (NNC), Philippine Health Corporation (Philhealth), Technical Empowerment and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) as partners of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in the implementation of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

Linkages Significance

“Noon, marami kaming nagagawa na hindi pala dapat, tulad ng pagbi-bingo at pag-inom ng alak, pate kaming mga nanay. Kaya naman salamat sa Panginoon at mayroong ganitong program sa barangay namin, kaya nabago kami. Salamat sa Panginoon at sa Pantawid (Before, we used to practice things that we are not supposed to do, like playing bingo and alcohol drinking, even us, mothers. That is why I am really thankful to God that there is a program like this in our barangay, for we have change. Thanks be to God and Pantawid),“ said Marissa Hermingildo, 43, during the Open Forum in a Family Development Session (FDS) held at Barangay Debucao, Ma. Aurora.

Having the presence of the National Government Agency (NGA) partners of the DSWD in the FDS, the beneficiaries took the opportunity as a venue to show their gratitude. Ailyn Lapada, 26, thanked Philhealth. “Wala kaming binayaran nang ma-confine ang anak ko sa Provincial Hospital dahil sa impeksyun sa bituka (We did not pay anything when my child was confined the Provincial Hospital because of an infection in the intestine),” she said. All Pantawid beneficiaries are entitled to receive of medical assistance from Philhealth. Likewise, Lilibeth Handok, 46, acknowledged TESDA for the skills training on Building and Wiring Installation given to her son, and DPWH for the Trabahong Lansangan project where her husband Artemio was one of the beneficiaries. Also, Castillo Inicencio, the Captain of Debucao extended his gratitude to DPWH for the covered court given to them, where the very event was held.

To raise awareness, Ptr. Rose Lomboy-Tabulismo asked on what would happen to the remaining poor in the barangay who are not yet included in the program, and those who are not supposed to be included in the program for they already well-off.

“Recently there had been a second round of assessment by the National Household Targeting System (NHTS) or Listahanan to saturate and include the remaining households since during the first round only the areas having a great poverty incidence are included. The system is the one who is going to determine who will be the additional or replaced member base on their answers in the tool that was use. On the other hand, through grievance system, the grantees who are not supposed to be members of Pantawid will be assessed,” answered
Tomasa Lirio, Regional Program Coordinator (RPC) of Pantawid. She then introduced the Grievance Officer of Aurora, and then gave them the grievance hotline number.

Aurora is one of the best provinces implementing Pantawid was the reflection revealed during the presentation of Ms. Josephine Dela Tonga, Provincial Link, in Machiavelli Hotel, where the committee moved afterwards. Aurora is now on its third year implementation of Pantawid. As shown in Ms. Dela Tonga’s presentation, there were multiple Municipal Links’ (MLs) initiative in the province that already serves as source of food and income of the beneficiaries, namely, May Bio-Intensive Garden Ako (May BIG Ako), Food Always in The Home (FAITH), Pantawid Pamilya Ikaw ang susi Nang ang Yaman at kaginhawahan Ay aming makamtan (PINYA), and Baby at Nanay Okay ka sa Kalusugan (BANOK).
May BIG Ako and FAITH are backyard gardening projects of Pantawid beneficiaries in order to promote daily nutritious food for the health of their family. While PINYA is a project by the Pantawid beneficiaries to earn money in preparation to their next project Botika ng 4ps sa Diaman; in this project, the beneficiaries were able to use their acquired skills and knowledge during the FDS facilitated by the Municipal Agricultural Office (MAO). On the other hand, BANOK, alongside with May BIG Ako, started due to identified malnourished children beneficiaries in Maria Aurora last January 2015; the Pantawid beneficiaries are to take care of Baboy or pig and Manok or chicken to serve as their source of nutritious food and income, as well.

There are also other programs and trainings in the province prioritizing the Pantawid beneficiaries that includes: Chips-Making, Cattle and Buffalo Dispersal, Mushroom Production, Banana Paper Livelihood, and Buccayo-Making, sponsored by the partner agencies. The beneficiaries, now, are making profit of the learnings and skills they gained.
Having appreciated the best practices of the province, the NGA partners suggested that associations established by the beneficiaries should be registered as micro-enterprises so that the following will be entitled of further assistance from government programs. ### (Andyleen C. Feje)

“Kaya naman gusto kong maging instrumento para maitaas ang pisikal, mental, emosyonal, sosyal, at spirituwal na estado ng mga kapwa ko Pilipino (That is why I wanted to serve as an instrument to uplift the physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual state of my fellow countrymen—Filipinos), I hope that you feel the same way,” said Andyleen Feje, Information Officer of Pantawid during her testimonial in the FGD for the Expanded Students Grant-in-aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (ESGP-PA) grantees held at Aurora State College of Technology (ASCOT) last March 4, 2016.

ESGP-PA is a program instituted by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), in partnership with the Departments of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Labor and Employment (DOLE), Budget and Management (DBM), and Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC). It provides financial assistance to poor but deserving students belonging to indigent household under the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR). A student-grantee is entitled to receive a maximum of PhP60,000 per academic year, or PhP30,000 per semester which includes the budget for: tuition, other school fees (based on State Universities and Colleges [SUC] and academic and extracurricular expenses; textbook and other learning materials; and, stipend (to include food, lodging, clothing, transportation, health/medical needs, basic school supplies and other related costs).

“Dahil sa programang ito ay makakatuntong na ako sa college na may kasiguraduhang makakatapos (Because of this program, I can have a degree in college with the assurance that I will finish),” said Roy Balbina, 17, a person with disability (PWD), taking up Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) under the assistance of ESGP-PA.
There are a total of 111 student-grantee in ASCOT as of March 2016.

“I can say that this program is indeed exceptional, for there are only few programs that really monitor the development of the youth to that extent. I feel blessed that I am given a chance to be part of this program. I can now solely focus on my studies,” testified Xhyrlyx L. Velayo, 18, BS Education in Secondary Education major in English, a student-grantee. ### (Andyleen C. Feje)

Ilongot, Igorot, Aeta, and Kankanai—Indigenous People (IPs) of Aurora received a check amounting to Php20,000 each as capital assistance for the Livestock business, last March 3, 2016 at Dipaculao (62 recipients) and Ma. Aurora (81 recipients).

The capital assistance came from the Modified Conditional Cash Transfer (MCCT) funds, in partnership with Sustainable Livelihood (SLP) program. The fund will be divided into the budget for three (3) piglets, training for livestock dispersal, and feeds for the domestic livestock. Every after three months, the harvest season, 50% of the beneficiary’s earnings will be used to buy additional domestic livestock while the other 50% will be put in their savings account.

“Malaking bagay ito. Nagpapasalamat ako sa MCCT dahil nadagdagan ang aming pagkakakitaan bukod sa Gardening. Malaking kaluwagan ito, maiaangat ko na ang pamumuhay namin (Thing is a big thing. I am in gratitude of the MCCT for we had another source of income, aside from gardening. This is a great help, I can eventually uplift our life),” said Fidel Viernes, 49, MCCT grantee. He also said that he will further develop his piggery, and then eventually work on goat-raising, as well.

MCCT is a special program intended to provide IP communities in Geographical Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs) with equal opportunity to access the basic services and benefits of Pantawid.
“Dahil parang napag-iiwanan ang IPs, kaya inilunsad ang MCCT. Kung paano pa mas mapapaunlad ang buhay nila kaya naman mayroong ganitong mga support service—assistance capital (Since it seems that IPs are being left behind, that is why MCCT was born. To further uplift their well-being, support service—capital assistance, are there),” said Ms. Rea Lynn Cabiling, MCCT Focal Person.

“Nagpapasalamat ako ng marami sa ginagawang pagpapaunlad ng aming buhay nang kami ay maiangat. Kung dati ay bilang nanay, ang iintindi ko lang ay basta mapakain ko lang ang aking mga anak. Ngayon, mas nakilala ko ang aking mga karapatan bilang nanay, pati na rin ang karapatanng aking mga anak (I am very thankful of the uplifting strategy that they are doing to elevate our lives. Before, as a mother, what I only think of is to fill my children’s stomach. Now, I have known my rights, and my children’s rights, better),”said Virginia Agustin, 49, an MCCT grantee. ### (Andyleen C. Feje)

Training people to fish rather than giving them fishes to eat is a living proverb for the beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in Babatnin, City of Malolos Bulacan.

The beneficiaries from the said barangay were given the opportunity to receive cash grant from the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) of DSWD. Not relying on the cash grant receiving from the Pantawid Pamilya, they have started their little business and livelihood which played a great role with regards to uplifting their living condition. Moreover, as part of their empowerment, they were able to learn how to manage small venture to sustain their daily needs.

Based on the testimony of Ma. Corazon Altamirano, recipient of Pantawid Pamilya and SLP, she was able to support the daily needs of her family especially the school allowances of her grandchildren. In addition, the holistic approach of the program blanketed the household. Indeed before, she was very much focused on her vices, and now she is focused on the store—thinking how to enhance her small sari-sari store in order to meet ends.

Most of the beneficiaries started their livelihood by buying their own motorboats since before they need to rent a boat in order to go fishing. Almost 50% of their income goes to motorboat rental, but because of the livelihood assistance from the government, they were able to produce their own bangka. In addition, they were able to attain the 100% income that really helps in prioritizing their needs. According to Ma. Theresa Santos, her husband focused on fishing though it was not a regular work. Though, they said that they could go on fishing anytime they want with the help of her son without thinking of the motorboat rental. Currently, growing their income is the goal of the said beneficiaries, to continuously uplift their living condition.

At present, their small ventures are progressively and religiously paying their monthly contribution to the said program. Moreover, they were able to regularly deposit in their savings.

The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program invests on the human capital focusing on the education and health of the household members aged 0-14. Much like, Sustainable Livelihood Program invests on giving small capital progressing and uplifting the lives of the Pantawid beneficiaries. Thus, social services given to the beneficiaries really had positive effects in improving their own family. Financially, they were able to meet their daily needs especially the school allowances of their children. Economically, they learned to save and think of the future. Likewise, they learned to mingle with other kabarangays; the social well-being of the beneficiaries were improved and enhanced. Lastly, the two programs taught the beneficiaries in improving oneself especially to be more responsible parents and as individuals. ###

She works as a mobile teacher under the Alternative Learning System (ALS) Program of the Department of Education (DepED and receives Php 2,000.00 monthly allowance. She focuses on teaching literacy and numeracy to those who are unable to finish or attend high school and quite old enough to enter high school through modules issued to them. She said that through the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program she has learned to appreciate education even more and wants that others may appreciate it the way she does by simply making it accessible to them.

Apart from teaching in Alternative Learning System, she devotes time as a volunteer catechist in Baquilan Resettlement School 1 to Grade 3 and Grade 4 students every Tuesday and Wednesday. She was involved in catechism since 1993 but she needed to stop in 1997 to work for the growing needs of her family. But she never stopped being a servant of Our Lord until last 2012 she went back teaching.

The most challenging part however is when it comes to the children’s communion. She has to visit them in their houses and check whether they were baptized already or not yet. Although she does not receive monetary compensation she noticed that her life became easier. Every problem seemed to be more manageable and her faith became stronger. According to her, being an instrument of transforming the children and leading them to Christ.
She, today, find her life more meaningful.###

She is skinny, short haired and has a brown complexion. Every day, she roams around the community, looking for stuff to sell in the junkshop, untiringly, to make both ends meet for the family.

Mary Ann Mangohig, 41, a mother of six (6) children is a simple woman and dreams of a simple yet abundant life for her children. Despite uncertainties, at an early age of 18, she entered family life which, according to her is a bittersweet experience. She experienced eating only once a day, being beaten by her husband especially when they had arguments.

Mary Ann engaged in gambling with the hope that it will help in the financial insufficiency of the family. For quite a long time, playing tong-its had been part of her daily routine. Her children stay outside their house most of the time; often hungry and poorly clothed. Until one time, the City Link assigned visited her at home and counseled her. She promised to stop gambling. From then on, Mary Ann could no longer be seen gambling.

She was recommended to undergo massage therapy training for her to gain employable skills and for her to engage and focus in more productive activity thus, avoiding gambling. The skills training ran for three months. She said, there were times that she doesn’t like to go home anymore for she is more relaxed in the resort where she had her OJT rather than at home.

On April 28, 2015, Mary Ann finished the training and marched on stage for the graduation along with other trainees. With the knowledge on massage therapy and a kit, she offered her services to her neighbors and earned Php100 per person that she served. She also do home service and earns Php200 per person. Propelled to do her best to provide a good future for her children, she plans to take skills training on dressmaking and apply for a more decent job for her family.

Also, Mary Ann said she is now more confident to relate with others. She even enjoys sharing her thoughts and views to her co-members during Family Development Sessions. She observes proper hygiene and sees to it that she is in good shape for her to have clients. She also said that her gained knowledge in massage therapy is beneficial for her family not only that it is a source of income but it also gives relief to their tired bodies. ###

City of San Fernando, Pampanga—With the intention to create a venue in providing feedback and ensuring that program phases are moving forward, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office (FO) III fronted a Unified Regional Program Management Training (URMPT) Consultation Meeting last February 23-24, 2016.

It is a convergence effort to bring out and resolve both the internal and external issues and concerns encountered by the DSWD FO III.

The assembly was attended by Provincial Action Team (PAT) leaders, Programs Focal Persons, selected Municipal Links (MLs) who presented the Municipal Action Team (MAT) processes, and staff from the DSWD Central Office (CO) who provided the plans and directions from the National Program Management Offices.

The success indicators of a program and a project are quality, quantity, and timeliness. Yet, Dir. Gemma Gabuya, also emphasized that in order to perform a deep and further assessment, there should be an individual caseload profile/folder—alike with the progress notes.

“Issues in the municipalities are being reiterated; there had been updates. And, there had been a cascading of the resolutions since there are attendees from the CO—it is even faster,” said Yovelyn Jean Abuso, Social Welfare Officer (SWO) II of the Program Convergence of Zambales.

The highlight of the first day gathering was the presentation of programs status of Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP), Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, KALAHI CIDSS-National Community-Driven Development Program (KC-NCDDP), Bottom Up Budgeting (BUB), and the presentation of the Social Welfare and Development Indicator (SWDI) status. While, on the second day, there were presentations of the PATs (PAT Aurora and PAT Nueva Ecija) and MATs (Local Government Units (LGUs) of Aurora and LGUs of Nueva Ecija.

“This event really played an important role for the concerns of the PAT and MAT which are being addressed. What more is that we gain ideas from the best practices of other provinces,” said Mareizl Basilio, SWO II of the Convergence Program of Pampanga.### (Andyleen Feje)

Christian James ‘CJ’ G. Balagtas, 12, is a resident of Barangay San Antonio, Guagua, Pampanga, where he was identified as one of the beneficiary of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

Currently, he is a grade VI student at San Antonio Elementary School. He was recognized in their school as one of the deserving pupil last School Year (SY) 2013-2014. But CJ does not just confine himself to the academe; he always grabs every single opportunity to showcase and further cultivate his God-given talent in dancing, which was supported by both of his parents.

Together with his little brother ChevinRoiu, 10, they won: the Grand Prize in the Regional Search for Pantawid Got Talent at Pampanga Sports Complex last October 4, 2015; the 2nd Prize during the Dance Rumble Year 3/Modern Dance at Subic, Zambales, last May 14, 2015; the Semi-Finalist Award in It’s Showtime (Minime edition) last May 5, 2014; the 1st Prize in the Invitational Dance Contest at Marquee Mall, Angeles City last February 1, 2013; 3rd prize in the Mall of Asia Count Down at Pasay City last December 9, 2012; the Finalist Award in the Most Talented Guaguaeno last December 9, 2012; and the Consolation Prize in Talentadong Pinoy at Channel 5 last November 23, 2012.

CJ is the eldest son of Mr. Rogelio G. Balagtas, 34, a guitar maker, and Ms. Marites G. Balagtas, 34, a housewife, and a grantee of Pantawid.

People sometimes mistook that Rogelio and Marites are making profit of their children. Often hearing such, they eventually doubt it to be that way. But then, when Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program came into their life, they were enlightened. They saw that their children had the love what they are doing—their children love dancing. And so they let them do what they love, for they are children, and yet the couple still made sure that CJ and his siblings would value education—a form of Social Dancing.

According to CJ’s mother, when their family became a beneficiary of Pantawid, their morals grew deeper—they became more disciplined citizens. “Pero sa lahat ng natutunan ko, ang pinakagusto kong isalin sa aking mga anak at apo ay ang pagpapahalaga sa sarili, sa pamilya, sa kapwa, at sa komunidad. (But among all the gains and learnings that I had, what I really wanted to relay to my children and my grandchildren is valuing oneself, the family, fellowmen, and the community).”

“Bilang batang Pantawid, kaya ko pong tumawid sa kaunlaran sa pamamagitan ng pag-aaral ng mabuti at pagsisikap na makatulong sa aking pamilya at sa kapwa, tulad ng turon ila Mama (As a Pantawid-aided child, I can cross the path of success through studying hard and striving to help my family and other people, just like what our parents taught us),” said CJ. ### (Andyleen C. Feje)