Poverty programs to be merged

TACLOBAN CITY — The government will merge three anti-poverty programs in a bid to enhance efficiency in providing assistance to extremely poor families in the next six years, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Corazon J. Soliman said in a recent briefing here.

The three programs that will be merged are the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDDS) and the Self-Employment Assistance-Kaunlaran (SEA-K).

“The convergence of these three programs is a strategy that will continue until 2016,” Ms. Soliman said.

She said implementation of the consolidated program should start by the middle of this year and end 2012 covering 2.3 million families in 47 provinces.

“We will do it in a more systematic and conscious manner. This is to achieve a more efficient use of resources. We need to ensure that we are complementing one another and this will have the benefit of a more responsive poverty reduction program,” Ms. Soliman told journalists.

Under the cash transfer program, a family with three qualified children will get financial assistance monthly provided that they follow conditions like regular availment of health services by pregnant mothers and children up to 14 years old, and enrollment in school of children aged 3-14 years with attendance not lower than 85% at any given time. Parents are also required to attend parenting sessions regularly.

“This is not dole-out because we are investing in the future of children. These children have parents and grandparents who were not able to complete elementary education. We are breaking the intergenerational poverty cycle of these families,” Ms. Soliman said.

DSWD Undersecretary for general administration Matt G. Montano said that the budget for 4Ps has been increasing since it was launched in 2007. The budget rose to P5 billion in 2009 and doubled in 2010 to P10 billion.

Kalahi-CIDDS, which funds small-scale community infrastructure projects and social services, targets to cover 100 more towns this year. The national government allocates P500,000 for each barangay in covered towns.

“We are aware that poorest of the poor are living in depressed areas with lack of classrooms, health centers, and infrastructure facilities. This will be addressed through Kalahi-CIDDS,” Ms. Soliman said.

This anti-poverty program is now being implemented in 42 provinces and 200 municipalities, with a total of 5,326 projects nationwide. The initiative has built water systems, school buildings, health station and day care centers, access roads and small bridges, environmental and disaster control infrastructure, and community enterprise facilities.

SEA-K, the third component, supports community-driven enterprise development by providing technical assistance and non-collateral, zero-interest loans to the entrepreneurial poor. Under the program, a family can avail of P3,000 loan, payable in two years.

The government aims to bring down poverty incidence to 24% by 2015 from the current 39% under the Millennium Development Goals. — Sarwell Q. Meniano, Businessworld