DSWD: Transfer fund aid to former logging towns affected by ban

ILAGAN, Isabela, Philippines – No matter how noble is the government’s program to alleviate the plight of the poor if the assistance does not reach the hands of the supposed beneficiaries, the intention does not serve its purpose.

This was the essence of Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Dinky Soliman’s message in assessing the areas tagged as “impoverished” in this province.

Among those targeted by the DSWD are former logging areas where families depended on the logging industry as their main source of livelihood.

The secretary spent Valentine’s Day and flew via helicopter to the remote villages of the municipalities of San Mariano and Reina Mercedes in this province for the implementation of the department’s nationwide fund grant: Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). Soliman noted the remoteness of identified villages tagged by the DSWD Isabela, most of which are logged over areas affected by the government’s total logging ban due to forest denudation.

The main component of the 4Ps program is the grant of financial assistance to identified poor families in remote barangays of this province.

Soliman said unless a system to reliably extend the financial grant directly to the beneficiaries is established, the amount extended to the latter by the government does not serve its purpose.

She said the beneficiaries complained that the financial grant can only be obtained from the Land Bank of the Philippines branches in urban areas. In the beneficiaries’ case however, the latter has to shell huge amount for transportation in order to obtain the regularly scheduled fund transfer.

She suggested that Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) be available in the hinterlands of San Mariano and Reina Mercedes in order to make cash transfer readily available to beneficiaries, however, banking officials in the province expressed disagreement since Soliman’s idea was too risky.