Salceda says CCT’s effectiveness tested during floods in Albay
by Danny O. Calleja

LEGAZPI CITY – The Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) builds disaster resilience of poor families and the experience of Albay is a prime example, according to Governor Joey Salceda.


Also known as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), CCT is a poverty reduction strategy of the national government that gives conditional cash grants to extremely poor families to improve their health, nutrition and education, especially of children 0 to 14 years old.


A maximum of P1,400 is given per family each month, provided that they comply with the program’s five requirements such as:


Pregnant women must avail of pre- and post-natal care and be attended by skilled health professional during child birth; parents must attend family development sessions; children 0-5 years old must receive regular preventive check-ups and vaccines; children 3-5 years old must attend day care classes; and children 6-14 years old must attend elementary and high school classes at least 85 percent of the time.


With the recent flooding and landslides in Albay brought about by continuous rains starting the middle of last December, Salceda noted how the CCT helped the people in their plight, citing the case of Manito, the town hardest hit by the disaster.


“Manito is most unique and an exemplar since it is the only town where barangays do not wait for the province to order evacuation. Once their rain gauges reach threshold, they evacuate on their initiative and just notify the province of their need for food assistance to replenish what they initially expended,” Salceda said.


“That ability is significantly aided by CCT as considering that cash is the most flexible form of relief since it enables the poor to make choices -- whether it is sardines or eggs for viand, and if it's sardines, what brand. Unless, of course, there are supply rigidities when relief goods are needed to expand available supply,” he added.


Remia Tapispisan, the regional director of the DSWD for Bicol based here, said that at present, CCT is already being implemented in the six provinces of the Bicol Region, covering 65 municipalities with 140,523 beneficiaries.


Among them is Manito, a fourth class municipality. It has 4,864 households mostly of poor families that are now enrolled with and receiving cash assistance from the DSWD under the CCT, Tapispisan said.


As part of the implementation of CCT in every beneficiary barangay, she said capability building training for Parent Leaders (PLs) is conducted by the DSWD using various modules such as Managing Self for Others; 4Ps in Review; 4Ps Systems; Role of PLs; Family Development Sessions; Effective Communication; Leadership, Conflict Resolution and Documentation. (DOCalleja, PNA Bicol/PIA Albay/mal)