Some 25 Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries from the town of Sta. Ana, Cagayan, who are also members of an indigenous group, received Php375,000-worth
of livelihood supplies from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to support their local fish processing business.
The livelihood assistance is part of the Enhanced Support Services Intervention (ESSI) under the 4Ps.
The ESSI provides a menu of projects and services geared at addressing the barriers and
vulnerabilities that hinder the socioeconomic development of the most vulnerable 4Ps households, including indigenous peoples (IPs), homeless families (HFs), and beneficiaries from geographically-isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs).
“Under the ESSI, the DSWD extends supplemental assistance to our indigenous communities to further help them meet their needs ensuring that our IP-kababayans will not be left behind in development,” Assistant Secretary Dumlao, who is also the agency’s spokesperson, said on Friday (March 28).
Personnel from the DSWD Field Office (FO) 2 – Cagayan Valley, together with the local government unit (LGU) of Sta. Ana, facilitated the turnover of the supplies and equipment to the IP community from Barangay Casambalangan from March 22-23.
Consisting of a fish smoking machine, sealing machine, plastic bottles, key raw materials and ingredients, the livelihood support is intended to bolster the group’s fish and shrimp paste production.
The LGU of Sta. Ana also augmented Php198,000 for the establishment of a facility that will house the small business’ fish smoking machine.
This package of assistance, according to the DSWD spokesperson, is designed to help the
beneficiaries sustain and expand their livelihood.
“Whether in the form of training, or small-scale projects, we make sure that our IPs’ voices are heard as to what form of aid could really make a difference in their lives. In doing so, we ascertain that developments do not harm their dynamic cultural heritage, practices or beliefs,” Asst. Secretary Dumlao explained.
With the added support, Asst. Secretary Dumlao said the agency anticipates that the IP community will improve their living conditions, and lead them to stability and self-sufficiency.
“Like what we always say, the end-goal of 4Ps is to break the cycle of poverty. By complementing our cash grants with livelihood support, we are not only securing the future of our 4Ps monitored children. We empower parents and household heads to secure viable sources of income and uplift their means to fulfill their duties to their families,” the DSWD spokesperson pointed out.
Launched in 2008 and institutionalized by Republic Act (RA) 11310 in 2019, the 4Ps is the national poverty reduction strategy and human capital investment program that provides conditional cash transfer to poor households for a maximum period of seven years to improve their children’s health, nutrition, and education. (LSJ)