Legazpi City, Albay – In an effort to provide sustainable source of income to beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in the Bicol Region, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), in partnership with the Department of Tourism (DOT), will implement the “Trabahong Turismo” Program next year.

“We want the beneficiaries to become self-reliant,” DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman said.

Under the program, Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries will be hired as tourist guides and tourist spot caretakers.

With Bicol region considered as one of the top tourist destinations in the country, it opens an opportunity for poor families to earn.

Among the famous tourist destinations in the region are Donsol, Sorsogon for butandingor whale shark-watching; the Mayon Volcano in Legaspi City; and, the Camarines Sur Watersports Complex (CWC) in Naga City.

DSWD, DOT and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the implementation of the project.

DSWD-Field Office V will identify the beneficiaries of the program who will be attending DOT training courses on multi-lingual tour guiding, frontline services, river guiding, housekeeping, tourism awareness, and mountain guiding.

“We will continue to tap other partner-agencies and the private sector as well to create more livelihood opportunities for our disadvantaged people,” Sec. Soliman added. ###