CCT program includes 3.8million poor families

By Carlito C. Dar

BAGUIO CITY - - The government’s Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program is benefitting 3,000,005 poor families nationwide and by 2013 the government hopes the program could reach about 3.8 million families.

           

Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon 'Dinky' Solimanbared this  during a recent visit here saying the government has identified 5.2 million poor families nationwide  wherein about 4.2 million of these have children 14 years old and below and bringing beneficiaries to 3.8 million will make the program reach its goal.

           

 To ensure smooth implementation, Solimansaid  the  DSWD has  a grievance redress system that takes care of any complaint, which anyone can  report through text message   to  cellphone number  09189122813.

           

She also reported that they have already delisted 171,000 names from the program.

           

On compliance on the program’s conditionality, Soliman disclosed a 95 percent compliance on education, 90 percent compliance on health and almost 99 percent on Family Development Sessions, based on the spot checks that they are conducting.

           

“Based on the Department of Education’s information and data, with the CCT program, there is an increase enrollment and student participation, as well as a decrease in child labor incidence in CCT areas“, Soliman added.

           

She said in partnership with World Bank, there is an on-going impact evaluation being conducted by the Social Weather Station,   the winning bidder for the project. Initial   result is expected to be out by June.

           

Soliman’s visit to Baguio and Mountain Province was part of the secretary’s  conviction of  meeting up and personally seeing the  activities  of the different programs that  DSWD  offices are implementing, as well as on the convergence program of the CCT, community driven development and the sustainable livelihood programs.

           

While in Baguio, Soliman also graced the signing of a memorandum of agreement between DSWD-Cordillera regional director Leonardo Reynoso and Kalinga Gov.JoselBaac, for the expansion of the CCT program to Tabuk City and the municipality of Rizal, both in Kalinga.

           

Similar MOAs  were  also  signed by the DSWD with local chief executives for the other CCT Set 5 areas in Cordillera.             According to Soliman, CCT’s Set 5 brings in 25,610 more Cordillera family beneficiaries to the program, which now brings the total CCT household beneficiaries in the region to 55,603.