I feel so blessed when we became beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilya, Zyra Velano, a wife to a farmer and a mother of one, said. Zyra recalled that she used to struggle so hard to survive.

Zyra, 28 and husband Robert, 27 devote their time working day after day in a farm during the planting and harvesting season and have no source of income in between the cropping season.

But with the coming of Pantawid Pamilya, Zyra’s life has changed… from a housewife to one of the parent leaders of Barangay Dikildit, Maria Aurora, Aurora. Her commitment to the program and leadership abilities as a parent leader has earned her appointment as Barangay Population Worker. She receives a monthly honorarium that augments their family income that derives from their sari-sari store and harvest from their small farm lot.

Zyra considers her responsibilities as a blessing and a means to hone her abilities in managing bigger responsibilities in serving her community in the future.

Given the responsibilities as a parent leader, Zyra’s priority is still her husband and only child James, 6 years old and a grade 6 student. On top of this, she takes care of her blind grandmother who lives with them.
Her family’s level of well-being has been raised to level 2 status as a result of the family’s improved economic and social status.

“Simula ng maging benepisyaryo ako ng Pantawid Pamilya, masasabi kong “Kaya ko ang Pagbabago” dahil napakaraming pagbabago ang ibinigay ng programa sa akin. Isa na dito ang pag-attend ko sa Family Development Session kung saan natuto ako ng maraming bagay lalo na ang pagiging mabuting ina, asawa at mamamayan.

Napalalaking impluwensa sa akin ng Pantawid at mula sa simpleng maybahay at asawa napili akong parent leader at humawak ng kapwa ko mga benepisyaryo ng programa. Naging Barangay Population Worker din ako at isa rin sa napiling mag-train sa mga pagsasanay sa paggawa ng camote at banana chips. Laking pagbabago nito sa buhay ko dahil sa mga produktong ito nagkaroon ako ng puhunan at nakapagbukas ng maliit na tindahan. Dahil sa pagsisikap at pagtitiyaga nagdulot ito ng pagbabago sa maraming bagay.

Dati isa lang akong taong bahay at asawa, ngayon ay nakakatulong na ako sa kapwa at sa aking asawa. Napakalaking bagay sa pamilya ang pagtutulungan at pagmamamhalan. Masasabi kong kayak o ang pagbabago at ipagpapatuloy ko ito dahil ito ang tuluyang mag-aangat sa amin sa kahirapan,” Zyra proudly said. ### (Evelyn T. Manalo)

“Ang pagtitiwala sa Diyos at sarili ay isa sa mabibisang paraan upang magwagi sa mga pagsubok sa buhay.”

This has been Mark Anthony Isaac’s guiding principle in life that has helped him realize his goal in life. At an early age, Mark realized that he wanted to become an engineer to help his family escape from an impoverished life. He believes that success could be attained not only by determination but also by having a strong faith in God.

Mark Anthony Isaac, 14 years old was born on December 1, 2000 from Marissa and Antonio Isaac, Jr. of Plaridel, Bulacan. He is the third child of a family whose main source of income is bag making.

Mark believes that education is the key to a better life. “Ang pagiging benepisyaryo ng Pantawid Pamilya ay nagbigay ng malaking tulong sa amin upang makamit ang pangarap sa pamamagitan ng edukasyon. Kaya mas naging pursigido ako sa pag-aaral dahil alam kong may nakakatulong sa akin,” Mark said.

A consistent first honor student during his elementary years, Mark was involved in various activities of his school. He was elected in the Supreme Government Officer and held different position from councilor to president. He always represented his school in different competition and always landed as a winner. In junior high school, he was consistent with highest honors and was awarded a scholarship grant by the PBC Sunbeam School, Inc.

With his desire to get out of poverty, he pursues his education with a strong determination to excel and do his best. Being a Pantawid Pamilya beneficiary, he has been compliant to the condition of the program by attaining almost a perfect attendance in school. He has been a role model to his classmates and other children-beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilya.

“Mas tumibay ang pa ang aming pagsasamahan sa Pamilya dahil sa Family Development Session kung saan itinuturo ang iba’t ibang mahahalagang bagay tulad ng mga Karapatan ng Bata,” Mark concluded. ### (Evelyn T. Manalo)

(City of San Fernando, Pampanga) The Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office III (DSWD FO III) has started the Listahanan second round of validation and finalization phase this November.

Lalaine R. De Leon, Policy and Plans Division OIC-Chief who led the training held recently in this city said, “Validation phase aims to come up with an accurate, credible, and final list that will be generated after a thorough review with the communities and their Local Government Units (LGUs).

The validation phase will provide opportunity for the review of the preliminary list of poor and non-poor households generated. It will also facilitate the identification of erroneous entries; inclusion of households not assessed; and will accommodate changes based on merit.

On the first day, Czar Cornelius David, National Household Targeting Unit (NHTU) Regional Field Coordinator discussed with 130 Area Supervisors the strategies to be used for interviews. It also highlighted with the question and answer (Q&A) on the importance of work ethics and handling of difficult situations encountered in the field.

On the second day, Enumerators (EN) were included in the orientation with topics on Grievances/complaints that may be filed. The participants presented this in the form of skit. The day ended by distributing laptops to the AS for their use in the validation.

The assessment will update the current list of poor families or the Listahanan Central Database. Listahanan is the Department’s targeting mechanism of identifying who and where the poor are and it will be the basis of targeting potential beneficiaries for government’s social protection programs. ### (FTSanga, Jr-SMU)

Victoria Dumaual, 79 years old of Barangay Amagna, San Felipe, Zambales receives her P3,000.000 Social Pension stipends for the 3rd and 4th quarter of 2015 through the door-to-door scheme. DSWD Field Office III Director Gemma B. Gabuya and DSWD-Protective Services Bureau Director Pacita Sarino witness the activity.

Victoria is among the 32,460 senior citizens who will benefit from the door-to-door scheme. “Malaking tulong po ito sa amin dahil dito na mismo sa bahay dadalhin ang penssyon ng nanay ko,” said Domingo Dumaual, son of Victoria, the first Social Pension beneficiary who received her grant through this scheme. ### (Evelyn T. Manalo)

Thirty two thousand four hundred sixty older persons from Central Luzon can now benefit from the door-to-door delivery of stipends/grants under the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (SPISC) starting October 2015.

This developed after the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was executed between the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office III (DSWD FO III) and the Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB), a private commercial banking corporation.

On October 26, 2015, DSWD Field Office III Regional Director Gemma B. Gabuya, Director Pacita Sarino of the DSWD-Protective Services Bureau, San Felipe MSWDO Rowell Villanueva, and representatives from Veterans Bank led the first door-to-door delivery of the SPISC stipends in San Felipe, Zambales.

Victoria Dumaual and Amado Acenas of Barangay Amagna, San Felipe, Zambales are among the 32,460 senior citizens who will benefit from this scheme. “Malaking tulong po ito sa amin dahil dito na mismo sa bahay dadalhin ang pension ng nanay ko,” said Domingo Dumaual, son of the 79-year-old Victoria Dumaual, the first beneficiary who received her grant through this scheme.

Amado Acenas, 80 years old is another social pensioner who received his grant through the door-to-door delivery. Amado’s wife, Lapaz Acenas said this is a great relief for her because she will no longer go to town during the pay-out. “Four years nang nakaratay ang asawa ko dahil naatake sya at malaking ginhawa ito sa akin dahil namamasukan ako bilang tagalinis ng isang bahay. Malaking tulong po ang pension ng mister ko dahil di sapat ang kinikita kong P2,000 sa isang buwan,” Mrs. Acenas added.

Mary Jean Balico, head of Social Pension Unit said that the DSWD FO III will disburse the amount of P89.955 million to 32,460 seniors aged 65 and above in selected cities and municipalities in Central Luzon. The seniors were among the identified beneficiaries of SPISC based on the result of the data generated by the Listahanan or National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) of the DSWD.

DSWD, the lead agency in the implementation of the SPISC, has identified PVB which has the capabilities to perform the service of distributing the cash grants/stipends to SPISC beneficiaries in selected cities and municipalities in the region. PVB was procured through public bidding and the MOA is in accordance to RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).

The PVB shall implement the pay-out of the grants/stipends to SPISC beneficiaries via door-to-door delivery in their respective addresses in accordance with the master list from DSWD. Pay-out should be completed within 30 calendar days from PVB’s receipt of the check and master list.
Based on the MOA, PVB shall release the grant only to the SPISC beneficiary and will not release the grant to a representative even if armed with a special power of attorney. PVB shall only pay beneficiaries who have complied with the requirements.

DSWD shall pay PVB a service fee of P100.00 for every grant/stipend successfully delivered and paid out.

To date, there are 64,288 indigent senior citizens who are benefiting from SPISC in Region III. Other means of disbursing the grants are through pay-out or fund transfer to the local government units (LGUs).
The grant/stipend under the SPISC is an additional government assistance given to indigent senior citizens pursuant to Republic Act No. 9994 also known as Expanded Senior citizens Act of 2010. It aims to augment the daily subsistence and other medical needs of Filipino indigent senior citizens.

Under the operational guidelines issued by the DSWD, senior citizens who are 65 years old and above and who meet the eligibility criteria will benefit from this program. All qualified senior citizens shall receive their P500 monthly social pension on a quarterly basis in the first month of each quarter.

Indigent senior citizens are those who are frail, sick, disabled, not receiving monthly pension from Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Social Security System (SSS), Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), Armed Forces of the Philippines Savings and Loan Association, Inc. (AFPSLAI) and other private insurance companies. Senior citizens who do not have permanent source of income or regular support from their families or relatives are also qualified to avail of the program. ### (Evelyn T. Manalo)

(City of San Fernando, Pampanga)  Some   P741,290.00  worth of relief goods has been provided to the victims of typhoon Lando which occurred on October 17 affecting all the seven (7) provinces of Central Luzon.

As of October 18, 12:00 noon disaster monitoring report, DSWD Field Office III reported that the assistance came from the DSWD and local government units (LGUs). Of the said amount,         P617,040.00 worth of relief goods came from the DSWD and P124,250.00 from the local government units (LGUs) of affected towns.  The content of the DSWD family food packs are rice, assorted canned goods, and coffee.

As part of its augmentation support to the LGUs, the DSWD has likewise prepositioned 3,000 family food packs to the Provincial Action Team (PAT) offices in the provinces of Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, and Tarlac.   

Per disaster monitoring report, Lando has affected 3,350 families composed of 14,610 persons from the 21 municipalities in the six (6) provinces of Central Luzon. Aurora province, the hardest hit area has 2,332 families or 9,856 persons affected followed by Nueva Ecija with 941  families or 4,467 persons.

Other affected areas are Bulacan with 59 families or 182 persons; Bataan with 10 families or 59 persons; Zambales with six (6) families or 35 persons; and Tarlac with two (2) families or 11 persons.

Of the total affected, 3,192 families composed of 13,695 persons are temporarily staying in 81 evacuation centers.  Aurora province has opened 60 evacuation centers serving 2,176 families or 8,952 persons followed by Nueva Ecija with 941 families or 4,467 persons. In addition, some 158 families or 915 persons are being served outside the evacuation centers.

There are no reported damaged houses or casualties as of this time.

Meanwhile, the DSWD quick response teams (QRT) which were activated before the onset of the typhoon will continue to monitor the affected areas and closely coordinate with the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Committees (DRRMC) in their respective areas of assignment. ### (Evelyn T. Manalo)  

Ang aming pamilya ay tuloy-tuloy na bumabangon sa kahirapan. Malaking pagbabago ang dulot sa amin ng Pantawid at isa na rito ang pagtataguyod sa pag-aaral ng aming mga anak. Ang aming panganay na nakapagtapos sa kolehiyo na Magna Cum Laude ay kasalukuyang nag-aaral ng abugasya at ang isa naman ay nasa ikalawang taon na sa kolehiyo. Pinahahalagahan namin ang Pantawid kayat ang aming mga anak ay nagsisikap sa kanilang pag-aaral at nagtatamo ng karangalan sa paaralan. Bukod sa pinansyal ang programa ay nakatulong sa bawat aspeto ng aming buhay sa pamamagitan ng Family Development Session. Nagpapasalamat din kami sa mga trainings at iba pang serbisyo ng DSWD na patuloy naming tinatanggap bilang benepisyaryo ng Pantawid. Kayang-kaya namin ang pagbabago! -Marissa Lumague of Lumague family: 1st runner-up, 2015 Huwarang Pantawid Pamilya.

Bilang isang estudyante, malaki ang naitulong ng Pantawid hindi lamang sa akin kundi sa iba ko pang mga kapatid. Sa kabila ng kakapusan sa buhay, napag-aral kami ng aming mga magulang sa tulong ng programang ito. Nakapagbigay din ito ng inspirasyon upang lalo ko pang pagbutihin ang aking pag-aaral at patuloy na mangarap. Pantawid makes me believe that poverty is not an obstacle to attain our goals and as long as we have a strong faith and brave heart to fight our difficulties in life, we can reach our dreams.-Eden Rose Antonio, of the Antonio family- 2nd runner-up, 2015 Huwarang Pantawid Pamilya