The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) through its  Field Office (FO) in the CALABARZON Region recently turned over motorized fiberglass boats and fishing devices worth P1.6 million as livelihood assistance to the members of the Dumagat tribe in the Municipalities of Burdeos and Panukulan in Quezon.

The recipients of the aid are beneficiaries of the Modified Conditional Cash Transfer (MCCT) for Indigenous Peoples (IPs) of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), the government’s flagship poverty-alleviation program implemented by the DSWD that provides conditional cash grants to poor families.

MCCT covers families in need of social protection, including IPs in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA), homeless street families, and families displaced by natural and man-made disasters, among others. MCCT beneficiaries are provided with special interventions tailored to their specific needs.

DSWD FO CALABARZON awarded the livelihood assistance to the members of the IP group during a simple turnover ceremony held in the town of Burdeos. A total of 25 fiberglass boats were turned over to the beneficiaries. Each boat will be shared by two Dumagat households.

As Burdeos and Panukulan are both island-municipalities, majority of the Department’s beneficiaries in the towns rely on fishing as a source of income. However, most of them do not own their fishing boats.

“Ako ay natutuwa na ako ay napagkalooban ng bangkang pangisda na may kasama pang motor at gamit pangisda (I’m very happy that I was given a motorized fishing boat that comes together with fishing devices),” shared Jimmy Gonzales, an MCCT beneficiary from Barangay Carlagan, Burdeos.

“Bilang isang katutubo, ito ay malaking tulong sa aming pamilya dahil mayroon na kaming panghanapbuhay. Sisikapin ko at ng ka-partner kong si Hernando na pangalagaan at gamitin sa maayos ang tulong na ito (As an IP, this is a big help to our family as this gives us a source of livelihood. Together with my partner, Hernando, I’ll do my best to take care of this aid and to use it well),” Jimmy added.

Made by beneficiaries

It was not just the Dumagat fishermen who benefited from the fiberglass boats, as the livelihood aid also helped other beneficiaries of the DSWD.

The 25 boats that were given to the fishermen were purchased from the fiberglass boat technicians from Atimonan and Burdeos, who are also beneficiaries of the Department’s Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP). The technicians were trained on fiberglass boat fabrication in 2016 as part of the program’s Skills Training Modality. The purchase of the boats helped boost the beneficiaries’ income.

A program implemented alongside with 4Ps, SLP provides income-generating opportunities to help improve the economic sufficiency of poor families and individuals. The program is implemented with four modalities, including skills training, seed capital fund, pre-employment assistance fund, and cash for building livelihood assets.

The skills training modality helps enhance the skills of program participants for higher productivity and profitability, which they can use for microenterprise or employment.

“The DSWD is committed in its goal of helping to improve the lives of our kababayans living in abject poverty. One way to achieve this is by providing them with livelihood opportunities that are sustainable. In the implementation of our livelihood program, we strive to reach out to as many poor sectors as possible, including the members of the different IP groups in our country,” DSWD Secretary Virginia N. Orogo said. ###