Pasay City – Fourteen Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries did not mind losing four days of opportunity to earn for their families when they joined thousands of volunteers who trooped to the National Resource Operations Center (NROC), the national warehouse of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), to help repack relief goods for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda.
“Nandito na po kami mula pa noong November 14. Pang-apat na araw na po namin ito (We have been here since November 14. This is already our fourth day.),” Marivic Romasanta, 49, a Pantawid Pamilya parent leader of Sun Valley, Pasay City said.
She said they were encouraged by their city link to volunteer which they gladly accepted “para makatulong din sa mga kababayan nating nasalanta ni ‘Yolanda’ (to be able to help our countrymen affected by ‘Yolanda’),” Romasanta said.
Romasanta and her group are not new to volunteering work at NROC.
“Dati naman na po kaming volunteers dito sa NROC. Mula pa po noong ‘Ondoy,’ noong ‘Maring,’ at noong ‘Habagat’ din. Malapit lang naman po kasi ang lugar namin (We have been volunteering here at NROC. We were here during the relief operations for Typhoons Ondoy, Maring and Habagat. Afterall, our place is just near here),” Romasanta said.
Romasanta said that they are already at NROC as early as 8:00 am and they usually leave at 5:00 pm. In their four days of repacking, the group has prepared around 4,000 family food packs.
She said that they plan to be here as long as the relief operation continues, probably on rotation basis to enable them also to attend to their respective families.
DSWD lauded and thanked the Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries who are usually the first to respond during disasters. Aside from repacking, they also assist in relief operations, maintaining cleanliness of the evacuation centers, and running community kitchens, among others.
Pantawid Pamilya is a poverty alleviation program of the national government that aims to break the inter-generational cycle of poverty of poor households by investing in human capital particularly on health, nutrition, and education of children aged 0-14.
Beneficiaries are given cash grants of as much as P1,400 for the education and health needs of a maximum of three qualified children.
To continue receiving the grants, families should comply with the following conditions: Pregnant women must avail of pre-and post natal care in a health facility and attended by professional birth attendant during childbirth; children 0-5 years old must receive regular preventive health check-ups and immunization; parents or guardians must attend monthly family development sessions; children 3-5 years old must enroll in day care and attend at least 85 % of the classes monthly; children 5-14 years old must enroll in pre-school and elementary or high school and should have an attendance of at least 85% monthly; and, children 6-14 years old in elementary and high school should receive deworming pills twice a year.
As of October 30, there are 3.9 million Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries nationwide.# ##
