Beneficiaries of the Department of Social Welfare and Development's (DSWD) Sustainable Livelihoood Program (SLP) receive their starter kits during a turn over ceremony led by DSWD Assistant Secretary for Special Concerns Anton Hernandez (far left) at the Yakap Bayan Outreach Activity in Brgy. San Diego, Lian, Batangas. Also present in the activity are DSWD Field Office (FO) CALABARZON Regional Director Annie Mendoza (second from the left), DSWD Social Marketing Service (SMS) Director Cezario Joel Espejo (second from the right) and other government representatives.
Beneficiaries of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Sustainable Livelihoood Program (SLP) receive their starter kits during a turn over ceremony led by DSWD Assistant Secretary for Special Concerns Anton Hernandez (far left) at the Yakap Bayan Outreach Activity in Brgy. San Diego, Lian, Batangas.
Also present in the activity are DSWD Field Office (FO) CALABARZON Regional Director Annie Mendoza (second from the left), DSWD Social Marketing Service (SMS) Director Cezario Joel Espejo (second from the right) and other government representatives.

“Walang pag-unlad kung walang peace and order, walang peace and order kung walang pag-unlad kaya naririto ang gobyerno ng Pangulong Duterte sa harap nyo, hindi lang para sa matatanda, hindi lang para sa kababaihan, hindi lang para sa mga bata, kundi  para sa ating lahat. Ito po ang pagtulung-tulungan natin. Tulung-tulong tayo para sa pagbabago, tulung-tulong tayo para sa pag-unlad.  Ito ang adhikain ng Yakap Bayan (There will be no progress if there is no peace and order. There will be no peace and order if there is no progress. This is the reason why the government led by President Duterte is here in front of you, not only for the elderly, women, and children, but for all. Let us work together to change for the better – towards development. This is the main goal of the Yakap Bayan).”

This was the message of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Assistant Secretary for Special Concerns Anton Hernandez during the Yakap Bayan: Community Mobilization and Support Program Outreach Activity held last week in Brgy. San Diego, Lian, Batangas which aimed to bring various programs and services of the government closer to Southern Tagalog, especially to the Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs) in the region. This activity is the second YBCMSP Outreach Activity held after its first leg in Sariaya, Quezon.

Last March 14, the Regional Development Council IV-A and the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Southern Tagalog signed a Memorandum of Agreement on the regional agencies’ synchronized and holistic delivery of programs and services to pave the way for peace and security, and socio-economic development. This collective endeavor follows the priority presidential directive to combat drugs, crime & insurgency, and corruption.

“Makikita ninyo na nag-evolve na ang Yakap Bayan na dati ay drug rehabilitation lang. Ngayon po ang Yakap Bayan sa Southern Tagalog, sa CALABARZON at sa MIMAROPA, ang tawag na natin ay Yakap Bayan CMSP o Community Mobilization and Support Program (The Yakap Bayan, which formerly focuses on drug rehabilitation, has now evolved into the Yakap Bayan CMSP or Community Mobilization and Support Program in the Southern Tagalog Region, specifically in CALABARZON and MIMAROPA),” he explained.

“Ang Yakap Bayan ay tulung-tulong at pinagsama-samang lakas ng gobyerno na ibinibigay pabalik sa tao ang nararapat na serbisyo na dapat nilang matamasa(The Yakap Bayan is a program formed through the coordination and collective strength of various government agencies to provide the necessary services to the people),” Asec. Hernandez added.

The inter-agency activity was participated by the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Southern Tagalog, DSWD, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Agriculture (DA), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Office of Civil Defense (OCD), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health (DOH), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and the Batangas State University.

Close to 1,000 participants availed of various government programs and services offered in the outreach activity such as free medical and dental consultation, massage, haircut, pedicure, and manicure, employment profiling, and training on disaster risk reduction and management.

In addition, residents from the barangay were awarded with vegetable seeds, loaves of bread, and a Community Fish Landing Center from the BFAR. The students from San Diego Elementary School also received raincoats and school supplies from BSU, while textbooks were donated by Mr. Raymond Mendoza of Christ’s Commission Fellowship (CCF) through the PAF 730th Combat Group SPOW.

For the provision of social services, the DSWD, led by its Field Office (FO) in CALABARZON, conducted a payout of Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) grants to 133 social pension beneficiaries and Listahanan registration for 19 household beneficiaries of the barangay.

Asec. Hernandez and DSWD FO-CALABARZON Regional Director Annie Mendoza also awarded cash incentives to the relatives of centenarians in the municipality, starter kits to the participants of the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP), and food packs to 99 drug surrenderers who joined the food-for-work program of the Department as part of their rehabilitation, aftercare and reintegration.

Asec. Hernandez also encouraged the residents to continue to support the administration by participating in the government’s nation-building efforts and thanked the participating agencies for their significant contributions to the activity.

“Let us weave our dream of a better, more prosperous, Pearl of the Orient into a reality,” he ended. ###