Over 1T people avail of gov’t services

More than a thousand beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program from the 23 barangays in Cebu City availed of various services from the “Pantawid Pamilya Convergence Caravan” initiated by the Department of Social Welfare and Development at the gymnasium of barangay Mabolo in Cebu City.

The DSWD “Tatsulo” convergence program brought in three major anti-poverty programs of the department, namely Pantawid Pamilya, Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) and Self-Employment Assistance-Kaunlaran (SEA-K).

The program enabled Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries to know the services offered by the Department of Social Welfare and Services; educational opportunities and scholarships for their children from the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Deparment of Science and Technology; employment opportunities from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the Department of Public Works and Highways; and sustainable livelihood programs from the Department of Agriculture and Department of Energy and Natural Resources where hundreds of herbal and fruit-bearing tree seedlings were distributed.

The Department of Health also free blood sugar testing and dental extraction and brought in the Botika ng Bayan as part of their information drive on cheap and safe generic medicines.

Other agencies were also introduced to the beneficiaries, such as the National Statistics Office, Pag-Ibig, PhilHealth, Philippine Postal, Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, Cooperative Development Authority, Parole and Probation Administration, Philippine Air Force, Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine Information Agency.

The Young Lawyers Association in Cebu also provided free legal advice and notarial services.