DSWD suspends Pantawid conditions for displaced Boracay workers

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has suspended the conditions of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to help the displaced workers of Boracay.

The DSWD said the suspension of 4P conditions was for the benefit of 640 beneficiaries in the island.

“We have suspended the conditionalities of the Pantawid program as a way to support our beneficiaries affected by the temporary closure of Boracay,” DSWD Undersecretary Emmanuel Leyco said in a statement on Tuesday.

However, for some people in Boracay, a monthly subsidy will not be enough for their families.

Dolyn Braulio, a 47-year old mother of two children, said a monthly allowance, is not enough.

Dolyn, a nanny at a Boracay resort, lost her job after the resort she was working for closed down.

Her husband also lost his job as an on-call mason carpenter for a local construction firm.

Dolyn’s two children were also laid off from the workforce. One had been working as a housekeeping staff at a resort. The other was working in a bakery.

To counter these situations, DSWD has created a program where displaced workers can get a new job within the government agency itself.

Dolyn and her husband were hired to work at the DSWD Operation Center (OpCen), to assist government employees deployed in the island.

“Residents and workers in Boracay, including our 4Ps beneficiaries, will also be given opportunities to access other DSWD programs such as the Cash-For-Work and the Sustainable Livelihood Program,” Leyco said.

As a cook of the OpCen’s community kitchen, Dolyn now has money for basic commodities and for her youngest daughter’s matriculation.

“Gapasalamat gid ako sa DSWD. Dako gid nga bulig ang nahatag sa akon. Gapasalamat din ako kay sa kadamo sa amon nga miyembro, isa ako nga napili,” Dolyn said.

Leyco said that DSWD recognizes the gravity of the situation, and will continue to aid families through its more than a hundred staff on key locations in Aklan.

“We understand that most of them, if not all, have jobs that are directly or indirectly related to the tourist trade in the island,” he added.

Flagship program

The 4Ps is the flagship poverty alleviation program of the previous administration. It has two types of grants:

• health grant: P500 per household every month (Total of P6,000 per year)
• education grant: P300 per child every month for 10 months (Total of P3,000 per year)

A household may register a maximum of three children for the program

Certain conditions must be met before families receive the cash assistance. Pregnant women, for example, must avail pre- and post-natal care. Parents or guardians must attend the family sessions on responsible parenting, health, and others. /vvp