665 Mt Province families given DSWD cash grants

BONTOC, Mountain Province -- The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development visited this capital town last week for its second over- the-counter (OTC) payment to 4Ps beneficiaries from the municipality of Natonin.

Held at the Bontoc Multi-Purpose Hall last August 13-14, 665 household beneficiaries received their cash grants for the period March-May, totaling to P1, 337, 100 in cash transfer.

4Ps is the vanguard poverty-reduction strategy of the government aimed at breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty through conditional cash transfer (CCT) for education health and nutrition.

In the opening ceremony, Gov. Maximo B. Dalog welcomed beneficiaries to Bontoc and expressed his appreciation to the national government through the DSWD for extending its services and programs to the people of Mt. Province.

“Nu maala yo dayta kuwarta yo ket usaren yo iti nasayaat nga banag. Usaren tayo nga usto iti pagsayataan iti pamilya tayo, haan nga iti bisyo.” (If you receive your money, use it for good things. Use it for the benefit of the family. Do not use it for vices),” he added.

The distribution of payment was led by the 4Ps Regional Project Management Team (RPMT) led by Regional Focal Person Mary Ann G. Buclao, together with Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) Bontoc Branch Manager Genaro A. Dumpayan, and staff from the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) of Natonin.

In the succeeding months, beneficiaries may already access their cash grants in any Landbank ATM machine with the use of their personal ATM cards.

Meanwhile, prior to the pay-out activity in Bontoc, the RPMT held a Municipal Action Team (MAT) Workshop and Grievance Redress System-Compliance Verification System Re-echo in Poblacion, Natonin last August 11-12.

Participated in by municipal focal persons, representatives from the Department of Education-run schools and the Department of Health (DOH) in the region, the twin activities aimed at providing knowledge on the dynamics and operation of the 4Ps to its local partners and stakeholders, as they will be tapped to assist in the monitoring and verification of compliance by the beneficiaries to program conditions, as well as in the over all implementation of the program.

Natonin Mayor Ana Marie Paz R. Banaag reminded the participants to commit their whole heart in what they will be doing. “Work with your heart…There is nothing wrong with working with your heart…Let us work here as a partners. Let us learn how to co-exist,” she said.

The workshop resulted to the creation of the Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) responsible for policy issues and decisions at the municipal level. It has its counter parts in the regional and national levels. The participants also drafted an action plan which was submitted to the RPMT for consolidation.

A MAT workshop and GRS-CVS re-echo was also held in Paracelis last August 18-19, and in Sagada (for Sadanga) last August 19-20, Hiyas Bardillas and Jeb Escalante