Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Juliano Soliman is set to arrive Tuesday, June 19, in Calbayog City, with the United States Ambassador to the Philippines, Harry Thomas to visit projects of the DSWD KAPIT-BISIG LABAN SA KAHIRAPAN – COMPREHENSIVE AND INTEGRATED DELIVERY OF SOCIAL SERVICES: KAPANGYARIHAN AT KAUNLARAN SA BARANGAY (KALAHI-CIDSS: KKB) in Sta. Margarita, Samar.

Upon arrival, she will first attend the consultation-dialogue on the implementation of the Convergence Strategy Program in the Set One and Set Two areas of the PANTAWID PAMILYANG PILIPINO PROGRAM (PANTAWID PAMILYA).

She is expected to meet some 85 workers of the three core social protection programs which include PANTAWID PAMILYA, KAPIT-BISIG LABAN SA KAHIRAPAN – COMPREHENSIVE AND INTEGRATED DELIVERY OF SOCIAL SERVICES : KAPANGYARIHAN AT KAUNLARAN SA BARANGAY (KALAHI-CIDSS : KKB) and SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD PROGRAM. The venue will be at the Ciriaco Hotel.

DSWD Field Office Eight Director Leticia Diokno bared that the Department has adopted the convergence of the said programs in order to have a better service delivery to its beneficiaries, and a focused targeting of the poorest of the poor.

In order to further institutionalize this convergence effort and to strategize on how this can be strengthened at the local level, no less than Secretary Soliman was invited to listen in the implementation of the program, in the ten municipalities of Northern Samar and 24 municipalities and one city of Samar.

The consultation – dialogue will hopefully pave the way towards working for the full maximization of the three core programs, especially so that the PANTAWID PAMILYA beneficiaries of the said areas will graduate from receiving the conditional cash by next year.   Under the PANTAWID PAMILYA, beneficiaries who are children aged 14 years old and below as well as pregnant mothers, benefit from a monthly cash grant in fulfilment of certain conditions that will improve their health/nutrition and education.