CCT beneficiaries to be given livelihood projects

MANILA, Philippines – The administration of President Aquino would provide livelihood programs to the country’s poorest of the poor who are also beneficiaries of the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program to give the people a sustainable income.

In her weekly interview at state-run radio dzRB, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Public Works and Highways will implement the livelihood projects.

“Magbibigay po tayo ng (We will give) employment to our CCT beneficiaries, apart from their stipend. Bibigyan din po natin sila ng (We will also give them) livelihood projects,” she said.

The program will be launched today at the slum area at the Baseco compound in Tondo, Manila.

“This is to show that the departments and programs are in tandem, and this is also a part of the Aquino administration’s goal which is poverty alleviation,” Valte maintained, “guaranteeing employment” to beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

The government had asked for P39.5 billion for the CCT budget next year, almost double the P21 billion this year, where P2 billion is expected to be released. This will no longer be through supplemental budgets but will be sourced from savings instead.

The proposed P1.8 trillion national budget for 2012 is now being deliberated in Congress.

In Aquino’s July 25 State of the Nation Address, he said the government is giving the dole-outs to the poorest of the poor in the remote areas across the country, because they want to invest in them, “because people are our greatest resource.”

“Of the two million families registered with the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), 1.6 million are already receiving their CCTs. Through the initiative and leadership of Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman, we have been able to give much needed assistance to an average of more than 100,000 families per month,” the President said.

“I am optimistic that we will reach our target of 2.3 million additional beneficiaries this year (2011). With a compliance rate of 92 percent, millions of mothers are already getting regular checkups at public health centers, millions of babies are being vaccinated against common diseases, and millions of school-aged children are now attending classes,” Aquino said.

The DSWD had reported that there are two million beneficiaries of the CCT as of July.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda described it as a milestone of the government in helping out the poorest of the poor by providing them cash, ensuring their health and keeping their children in school.

The two millionth recipient identified as Sharon Hassan Dabbang of Barangay Patikul, Sulu, will receive a monthly stipend in exchange for her pledge to keep her children in school and to avail of regular checkups at the public health clinic, said Lacierda. –Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star)