To ensure full compliance on official procurement procedures, the Regional Program Management Office (RPMO) of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan–Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) Region 3 held its fourth Regional Fiduciary Workshop (RFW) last July 19-22 in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija.

“We need to do this to determine and solve even the smallest loopholes in the procurement process,” said Hyacynth Rivera, regional capability building specialist of the KALAHI-CIDSS Region III.

Along with Rivera, the event was participated by Regional Finance Analyst Keisha Morales, Regional Community Infrastructure Specialist Ranel Lombres, finance analysts, area coordinators, community finance facilitators, and administrative officers.

The team conducted intense and participative discussions to determine the frequently occurring finance and procurement issues. Moreover, they devised ways on how to address these issues and prevent them from happening in the future.

“We should implement strict review standards of the procurement documents. From the documents, signatures, and stamping, we should make sure that all the requirements are complete,” suggested Peejay Morales, FA III.

Finance Analyst Keisha Morales also added, “Finance officers must reach out to all community-based finance and procurement personnel and educate them further on due process to prevent issues”.

As the RFW ended, the team was able to develop a proactive strategy on how to achieve full compliance from all concerned personnel in the finance and procurement process. ### (Ma. Dennielle M. Lomboy)

Some 73,225 older persons from Region 3 can now benefit from the door-to-door delivery of stipends/grants under the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (SPISC) starting July 2016.

This developed after the renewal of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office III (DSWD FO III) and the Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) was executed on July 14, 2016.

The partnership has started in 2015 where 32,460 seniors aged 65 and above in selected cities and municipalities in Central Luzon.

The DSWD FO III will disburse the amount of P2,196,750 to 73,225 seniors aged 60 and above in 130 municipalities and cities in Central Luzon, Assistant Regional Director Venus Rebuldela said. 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 73,225 indigent senior citizens who will be benefiting from SPISC in Region III. All of the target beneficiaries for 2016 are now covered by the door to door scheme, Rebuldela added.

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 60 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)

“Naranasan ko ang paghahakot ng buhangin, bakal, at hollow blocks at pagsusulandra ng mga buhangin para magamit ng kasama kong trabahador. Kasama rin ako sa pag-check ng mga DTR (I experienced hauling sand, metal, and hollow blocks and filtering sand to help my fellow construction workers. I was also one of those who checked the DTR).”

These words were told by Rosanna DC. Perin, 42, as she recalled her days as a paid laborer during the construction of their community sub-project in Barangay Mataas na Kahoy, General Mamerto Natividad, Neva Ecija. Their community sub-project was funded by the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS, a program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Giving a quick glance on Perin, one would never have a clue that this petite lady with a bubbly personality would be able to work as a construction worker. “Katakot takot na sakripisyo ang aming naranasan noong una, ngunit [dahil] sa tulong at suporta ng aming kapitan, nagkaroon kami ng lakas ng loob para magpatuloy (At first, we were confronted with a lot of hardships. However, because of the assistance from our barangay captain, we gained the courage to go on),” she said.

Perin, along with her farmer husband, raises their six children. Admittedly, she said that her additional income from her construction work helped a lot in her family’s daily expenses. A Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiary, Perin is also known in her community as one of the most active volunteers.

Aside from being a member of the audit and inventory team, Perin monitors the laborers in the sub-project. “Nagkaroon ng pagsasaayos ng mga dokumento, paghahanap ng materyales, at pag-inventoy ng mga gamit na dumadating galing sa mga suppliers (We organized documents, looked for materials, and did inventory on equipment from the suppliers),” she added.

Committed to community service, Perin is honored to be one of the nominees in the Regional Search for Huwarang Pantawid Pamilya of the DSWD. According to her, being a barangay health worker for two years is enough to be called ‘huwaran’. She hopes that her dedication to volunteering becomes a great example to all the women in her community. Engagement to the community, according to Perin, is the key to women empowermement. ### (Ma. Denielle M. Lomboy/Manilyn B. Cruz)

Jovy Picardal, 41, a resident of Barangay Mataas na Kahoy, General Mamerto Natividad, Nueva Ecija is one of the strong ladies who persistently prove that the days of women inferiority are long gone. With her drive, dedication, and commitment, along with her fellow active community volunteers, Picardal made it possible for her barangay to bag the third place in the Municipal Inter-Barangay Forum – Participatory Resource Allocation (MIBF-PRA).

Aside from being a parent leader of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Porgram, Picardal is a volunteer of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) and a bookkeeper of Barangay Sub-Project Management Committee (BSPMC). “Pinagbuti ko ang pagiging volunteer na iginawad sa akin. Isa rin ako sa nakaalalay sa aming treasurer ng barangay sa kadahilanang siya ay may maraming trabaho (I did my best as a volunteer. I was also one of those who assisted our barangay treasurer because he’s too busy with other matters),” she said with pride and enthusiasm.

She worked non-stop to make her community a conducive and sustainable place for the future generation. Remarkably, she achieved way more than what she asked for when her community’s collective effort was acknowledged by the KALAHI.

Last November 2015, her barangay was selected among the 64 barangays in Region 3 to receive the Community Development Technical Assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Picardal and her fellow volunteers were the happiest in their community when their proposed construction of a school building for their community high school was selected and funded by the department.

Now, the sub-project in Barangay Mataas na Kahoy is complete and the volunteers and organizers are waiting for the release of their third tranche fund. With the support of the Barangay Local Government Unit (BLGU) led by Punong Barangay Gemeniano Narciso, the project was implemented with minimal and manageable challenges. Picardal added, “Ang problema ng barangay ay isa-isa naming hinanap at binigyan ng solusyon. (We determined and addressed the problem in our barangay).”

According to Picardal, when the KALAHI was introduced to their barangay in 2015, the entire community became mobilized as the program triggered their sense of volunteerism. To determine which problems needed to be addressed, they conducted a Participatory Situational Analysis (PSA). “Dito ko nalaman kung paano ang proseso ng programang ito at dito ko nakita na may maganda silang hangarin para umunlad ang barangay (Here, I found out about more about the program and realized that it is intended to help our barangay progress),” Picardal said. After the PSA, the members of the community were delegated to their respective positions. Here, Picardal was tasked to be the volunteer in the Project Preparation Team (PPT) and Community Monitoring Team (CMT).

As a volunteer, Picardal developed the confidence and skills to communicate with the officials of KALAHI-CIDSS. “Dahil dito, lalo naming pinagbuti ng pagvovolunteer na kahit mahirap, pinagpatuloy ko ang pagiging volunteer. Dito ko naranasan na masaya ang may naitutulong sa mga kabarangay at maraming natutunang kaalaman para sa pagpropose ng isang proyekto (Because of this, we exerted further effort in our volunteer work despite all the hardships. I am happy that I can help my fellow community members while learning the needed skills in project proposal),” she added.

Fulfilling the role as a community volunteer also made Picardal realize that although she was not able to graduate high school, she can still play a significant role in her community. KALAHI taught her how to manage important project documents, as well.

“Ang lahat ng ito ay aking ginampanan bilang volunteer para maisakatuparan at makamit ang magandang record ng aming barangay sa Programang KALAHI CIDSS NCDDP. Hanggang matapos ang aming proyekto, ako [ay] isang volunteer pa rin para sa ikauunlad, ikagaganda, at ikasasaya ng aming barangay. Maraming salamat sa KALAHI-CIDSS-NCDDP at mga kawani nito (I accomplished all of these as a volunteer four our barangay to achieve and attain a good record in the KALAHI-CIDSS-NCDDP program. Until the end of our project, I will be a volunteer for the progress, beautification, and happiness of our barangay. Thanks to the KALAHI-CIDSS-NCDDP and to its employees),” Picardal said. ### (Ma. Denieele M Lomboy/Manilyn B. Cruz)

Some P530,671.00 worth of relief goods has been provided to the victims of Typhoon Butchoy which occurred on July 7 affecting the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan and Zambales.

The said assistance, which came from the combined resources of the DSWD and the local government units (LGUs) were extended to Bataan- P169,731.00 and Zambales- P360,940.00. Of these assistance, P433,128.00 worth of food items came from the DSWD and P97,543 from the LGUs of Bataan.

DSWD has also prepositioned 6,590 family food packs in the provinces of Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, and Zambales.

As of 3:00 PM today, disater monitoring report, Typhoon Butchoy has affected 8,009 families composed of 33,323 persons from the 11 municipalities of the provinces of Bataan (4,340 families), Bulacan (492) and Zambales (3,177).

Of the 21 evacuation opened, 10 are still in operation serving 68 families or 255 persons. Meanwhile, a total of 5,264 families or 21,154 persons are being were served in their respective communities.

The rains that triggered flood in the affected areas had left nine (9) families with partially damaged houses. No casualties were reported as of this time.

DSWD FO III has activated its quick response teams (QRTs) at the field office and provincial extension offices which are now monitoring the situation in the affected provinces. The Field Office continue its close coordination with the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) at the regional level and Local DRRMC at the provincial/municipal level. ### (Evelyn T. Manalo)

The Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office III (DSWD FO III) presented on June 29 the profile of targeted poor families based on the result of the LISTAHANAN second round of assessment implemented in 2015.

Speaking before the 300 guests from the local government units (LGUs), national government agencies (NGAs), academe, civil society organizations (CSOs), media and representative from the International Community, Director Gemma Gabuya said the second assessment covered 1,379,927 households in Central Luzon. Of these, 244,593 or 17.73% were identified as poor households. This comprised 4.78% of the 5,116,976 identified poor households nationwide.

The poor households were identified through the Listahanan second assessment conducted in 2015. The LISTAHANAN or the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) is an administrative tool for targeting poor families.

The assessment used the Proxy Means Test (PMT) models to estimate the per capita income of the households. Through this assessment, the DSWD FO III identified 244,593 targeted poor households regionwide with annual per capita income less than the poverty threshold reported by the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) for 2015.

Meanwhile, 596,596 poor individuals of the targeted poor households reside in urban areas and 805,222 live in urban areas, Gabuya added.

Gabuya also identified the top three (3) provinces with the most number of poor households in the region. Nueva Ecija topped the list with 69,048 poor households or 28.23% followed by Pampanga with 47,831 or 19.56% and Bulacan with 43,246 or 17.68%.

Of the 1,401,878 poor individuals who comprise the 244,953 identified poor house households, 51.88% or 727,290 are male and 48.12% or 674,588 are female. Meanwhile, 651,584 or 46.48% are children who are 3-18 years old; 32,018 or 22.83% are youth aged 15-30; 53,019 or 3.78% are senior citizen who are 60 and above; and 1.25% or 17,564 are persons with disability.

There are 9,912 or 4.05% poor households who belong to the Indigenous People’s (IPs) Group. The highest numbers of IPs are found in the Province of Zambales, Gabuya added.

On education, there are 236,935 poor individuals or 16.90% are attending elementary (6-11 years old) and 112,766 poor individuals are attending high school (12-15 years old). Meanwhile, 27,440 poor individuals or 1.96% are attending college (16-30 years old); 30.54% or 428,087 poor individuals are attending school (3-18 years old); and 24.13% or 338,275 poor individuals attained any level level in high school (15 years old and above.

On labor force: 51.84% or 726,794 poor individuals are part of labor force with ages 15 years old and above. A total of 409,882 poor individuals or 29.24% are reported to have no occupation (15 years old and above) while 23,204 poor individuals or 1.66% of the working population have no formal education.

Meanwhile, 21.08% or 51,557 do not have access to electricity; 10.47% or 25,600 do not have access to safe water system; and 32.86% or 80370 do not have sanitary toilet facility.
Poor households have three (3) major assets, namely, telephone/cellphone- 151,860; television- 140,221; and radio- 43,892, Gabuya added.

Gabuya also informed the group that to get hold of the names and addresses of poor households, families or individuals, a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the DSWD and the interested data user must be executed. ### (ETManalo)