DSWD-7: Rice grant made 40T families self-sufficient

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Social Welfare and Development-7 has reported that the addition of a rice grant for beneficiaries of the government’s Pantawid Pamily (4 Ps) program last March has resulted to around 40,000 families becoming “self-sufficient”.

"We found out that there are already 40,000 households who are self-sufficient through the aid of Pantawid Pamilya’s rice subsidy, which means that they can buy their own food and other needs," said Joan Florabal Felicio, Pantawid Pamilya Bohol grievance officer.

She was speaking on behalf of the Department of Social Welfare and Development-7 office during the Kapihan sa PIA yesterday.

She said they conducted the Social Welfare Development Indicator (SWDI), a survey tool used to determine the number of self-sufficient families as beneficiaries of the Pantawid Program, to come up with the figure.

Felicio said that with the additional rice grant of P 600 a month, each family can receive at least P 2,000 per month, which includes the educational grant (P300 per child for a maximum of three children) and health assistance (P500). The education grant for a child in High School is P500.

Felicio said that they have already released P412.4 million for the rice grant since December last year.

She said that in Cebu province, there are already 221, 810 families who are “active and compliant” beneficiaries of the program; 144,176 in Bohol; and 10,355 in Siquijor.

Also, Social Welfare and Development Cebu Team Leader Timotea Gadapan said the Libreng Gamot Para sa Masa (LINGAP sa Masa), which started early this year, already has 1,656 recipients at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) as of the other day.

She said they have already disseminated P 18.7 million, or 15 percent of the P121 million LINGAP sa Masa fund this year.

Beneficiaries of LINGAP sa Masa are indigent Filipinos who are confined in hospitals or are out-patients in need of prescription medicines.

Last February, DSWD-7 signed a Memorandum of Agreement with VSMMC for free medicines for indigent patients. The program first took effect in Cebu and will be implemented in other provinces of the region.

Another DSWD program is the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS), where communities and the local government units are coached to choose, design and implement sub-projects that address their most pressing need.

Kalahi-CIDSS Community Development Officer Karl Arbon said 2,549 sub-projects were already implemented in the region. Of these, 1,480 were in Bohol, 1,074 in Cebu, and 57 in Siquijor.

Meanwhile, DSWD Cluster Grievance Officer Jhunie Morada said that laboratory results on rice sold to 4Ps beneficiaries released by the National Food Authority showed there was no fake rice, especially on the Sta. Fe, Bantayan Island incident.

"Regarding the rice issues, we have conducted an on-going investigation and we will disclose complete information after it has been finalized and signed by the regional director," he said. — Doris Mae C. Mondragon (FREEMAN)