By Carmela C. Duron
MABINI, Compostela Valley, July 6 (PNA) — “It is never easy being both a father and a mother to your children,” Pantawid Pamilya beneficiary Alex Juanico laments.
“It was already two years since my wife left us for another man, but the most painful part is leaving me with the responsibility for our six minor children,” Juanico adds.
It was a sound of self-pity; a story shared to Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Listahanan enumerator Charita Mae Chato.
“Heading to Purok Mabolo in Barangay Pindasan, four minor children caught my attention. Their house is made of makeshift materials and I can’t imagine when it rains and where they hole up to avoid getting soaked,” Chato said.
Juanico is the house owner and lives there with his six children. He is a laborer in a banana plantation. This work enables him to feed his children.
Chato visited with the Juanico family for the Listahanan assessment and learned of the family’s predicament and the father’s ultimate dream.
“Pag paniudto na, mananghid ko sa akoang amo aron makauli ko ug malutu-an nako akong mga anak (At lunchtime, I ask permission from my boss to let me go home and cook for my children),” Juanico shared.
He admitted there are times he could not provide enough food for his children because of his meager salary.
“Usahay makadungog nalang ko og storya nga ang akoang mga anak mangayo og pagkaon sa silingan namo. Usahay manguha og lubi aron naay makaon. Sakit man paminawon pero lisod gyud amoang sitwasyon (Stories would reach me that my children would ask food from our neighbors. Sometimes they feed on coconut meat. Hurting it may be but our situation is really hard).”
Juanico’s family was blessed when it became a Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiary in 2014.
“Wala ko damha. Naa na koy katabang sa pagtaguyod sa akoang mga anak. Dako kaayo ko og pasalamat sa DSWD nga gitabangan gyud kami (I never expected this. I now have a partner in raising my children. I am very grateful to DSWD for really helping us).”
His older children, Al Christian, 12, and Mary Joyce, 10, are now in school in compliance with the education condition of the program. “Isa lang akoang pangarap bisan og pobre kami — unta makahuman og eskwela akoang mga anak (I only have one dream — that my children would finish school).”
Pantawid Pamilya is a poverty reduction strategy of the national government that provides cash assistance to identified poor household in the country. Family beneficiaries comply with certain health and education conditions in order to receive their cash grants.
At present, Pantawid Pamilya covers 43 municipalities and six cities in Region XI, benefitting over 229,871 families.
“This Listahanan journey has taught me many things. It is not just a job for me but an opportunity to help change the lives of vulnerable people through reaching them in far areas you cannot imagine exist,” Chato said.
For Chato, Listahanan assessment means a lot for many people, it is hope for them. “More than the salary that we can get from this assessment is the opportunity of interacting with people and knowing them through DSWD’s Listahanan.”
Listahanan is a data management system that identifies who and where the poor are. It contains comprehensive socio-economic database of poor households as basis for determining beneficiaries of social protection programs and services.
Listahanan data are made available to national government agencies, non-government organizations, local government units and other social protection stakeholders. Listahanan saturation assessment in all rural areas is ongoing while pockets of poverty for urban localities will be administered soon.
To date, Listahanan has assessed 356,405 families of the target 793,770 in Region XI. (PNA)