Phil social assistance now at P275 M for Bohol, more soon

DAUIS, Bohol July 21 (PIA) – THE government has infused around P 275 million as fiscal capital to Bohol economy since 2009 to date, the amount to go even higher as pay-offs are set within the next few weeks, reveals Secretary Corazon Soliman, during a recent press conference at The Bohol Plaza resort recently.

The money which were handed to the less privileged also seeped to local economies and trickled to ordinary vendors, tricycle drivers and fishers who were not identified beneficiaries of the government’s assistance.

In the press material the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) distributed to the media in Bohol, data shows that the biggest share of the national government’s fiscal pie was coursed through the conditional cash tranfer program called Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

The National Household Targetting Survey in 2009 has identified about 13 towns of Bohol with high poverty incidence and whose beneficiaries are eligible to the government cash transfer program, she explained.

Started in 2009 in Bohol, the 4PS went to beneficiaries in Danao, before the program expanded to 12 towns, most of them were in the second and third districts where poverty incidence was high.

Around 28,004 poor households from the towns of Alicia, Carmen, Bien Unido, Buenavista, Dagohoy, Inabanga, Getafe, Carlos P. Garcia, Mabini, Pilar, Trinidad and Ubay received a total of 152,092,500 in two-month tranches since 2009.

Asked as to whether this government cash assistance really went to the education and health of the kids, Sec. Soliman explained set up monitoring systems that include a Compliance verification system, and Ateneo Impact Evaluation and some 165 volunteer organizations looking into the program.

She said while in education, the DepEd and DOHH have reported that compliance to the 85% school attendance has been strictly followed and rural health said in anecdotal reports that substantial increase in rural health center visits by mothers and women of maternal age.

Another hunger mitigation program called Rice Subsidy has 15 Bohol towns and 8416 beneficiaries already receiving P23,710,401, the DSWD data reveals.

Beneficiary towns include Alicia, Antequera, Alburquerque, Baclayon, Batuan, Bilar, Bien Unido, Clarin, Cortes, Dagohoy, Dauis, Getafe, President Carlos P. Garcia and San Isidro.

As to another program: the Social Pension, 1,195 senior citizen beneficiaries of 25 towns have been paid off at P500 per month stipends.

The government has disbursed P1,792,000 for these beneficiaries.

Other than that, the government, through the DSWD has cascaded its supplemental feeding program to 72 barangays and 324 day care centers in at least 13 towns here.

The amount disbursed in now at P9, 788, 325.00 and coursed through local government units, the data showed.

Over and above this, the DSWD is also implementing a Kapig Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (KALAHI) Comprehensive Integrated Delivery of Social Services sustainability plan in the Community Driven Development (CDD) Local Planning Process harmonization initiative.

The program billed as Makamasang Tugon grants P450,000 per barangay in municipal grants to towns implementing KALAHI projects.

Bohol gets to receive some P83, 748, 000 for its 12 towns through this facility, DSWD data showed.