PRESS RELEASE

Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program

Department of Social Welfare and Development 4/F DSWD Building, Batasan Pambansa Complex IBP Rd, Constitutions Hills, Quezon City Tel Nos. (632) 9318101 loc. 422/423; Telefax (632) 9512807 Website: pantawid.dswd.gov.ph Email: 4ps-pmo@dswd.gov.ph

Moving Towards a Better Siayan

Pantawid Pamilya beneficiary Lucrisia B. Ogatis receives her P500-peso incentive for delivering her second child in the main health center of the municipality.

Siayan is a second class municipality located in the peninsula of Zamboanga with roughly around 6,086 household based on the 2000 Census. In 2008, Siayan has been identified as one of the pilot areas where the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, the Philippines version of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program is implemented. Covering the 22 barangays of the municipality, Siayan has 4,301 registered households.

According to Mayor Flor Villaroza of Siayan, there is no doubt that the program is really a big help to the families receiving grant, ang program ng Pantawid Pamilya ay

malaki ang naitutulong sa mga beneficiaries or sa mga pamilya. Kung dati problema kung saan kukunin ang pambili ng pagkain, baon para sa mga batang nag-aaral at maging ang pambili ng gamot, ngayon kahit papaano meron silang pinambibili ng pangunahing pangangailangan. Ngayon napansin ko din na ang mga nanay lalung-lalo na yung mga buntis ay kinagigiliwan na ang pagpunta sa health center dahil sa ayaw nilang mabawasan ang grant na matatanggap nila. (Pantawid Pamilya has really helped the beneficiaries or the families included in the program. It was a problem before where these families will get money for their food, allowance for their school aged children and even budget for medicines. With the program, they are now able to buy their basic necessities. Further, the mothers most especially the pregnant ones have been very conscious in visiting the health center because they wanted to comply with the beneficiaries and getting the full grant allocated to them.

Based on the Compliance Verification System (CVS) turn-out for the period September to October 2011, the municipality got a high compliance rate for the health of children aged 0-5 with 97.62%. This was followed by deworming of children aged 6-14 with 97.21%. For the education of 6-14 years old, the municipality got a compliance rate of 96.22% while 93.40% for the education of children aged 3-5 years old. Attendance in the Family Development Session (FDS) had a rating of 92.68%

Pantawid Pamilya is a national government program and is implemented in partnership with other national government agencies and the Local Government Units (LGUs). The LGUs must be ready on the supply side ensuring that facilities on health and education are provided.

Villarosa added that she wants to make sure that her constituents who are included in the program will be able to comply with the conditions of the program. She said that, I am happy to tell you that in our 22 barangays, we have 22 health centers with 22 health workers. Our centers are being managed by either a midwife or a nurse. Since there are lot of nurses who are unemployed we hire their services to ensure that basic health are provided not just to the beneficiaries but also to the rest of the residents. Further, we are

also giving cash incentive amounting to P500.00 to all mothers who will give birth in the centers or hospital

More than 90% of the municipalities population is lives in poverty, and with the very limited resources of Siayan, the Mayor has thought of a way in order to maximize the grant of the beneficiaries making it as income for the municipality. We have purchased our own Automated Teller Machine (ATM) so that our beneficiaries do not need to go to other municipalities to withdraw their grants. I have also given up my monthly salary so that each barangay can put-up their cooperative where the beneficiaries can purchase basic commodities. Together with my salary I also encouraged the beneficiaries to have a capital share. In this manner I am not only helping the beneficiaries, but we are all working to boost our economy.

She also said that she does not want the beneficiaries to be dependent with the program since the program is time-bound. We at the local government wanted to make sure that these beneficiaries will really improve their lives after five years. That is why we are also engaging with other agencies such as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) so that these beneficiaries can acquire technical skills that will help them earn a living. The beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilya are being encouraged to plant vegetables in their back yard. We also encouraged them to raise livestock for additional income. The LGU have also purchased farm implements to assist the farmers.

Villarosa is very hopeful that with Pantawid Pamilya coupled with the partnership of the Local and the National Government, their municipality will have an improved way of living. The Pantawid Pamilya is a human development program of the national government that invests in the education and health of children age 0-14. To date, the program is being implemented in 1,260 municipalities, 138 cities and 79 provinces in all regions nationwide covering more than 3 million poor households. ###