Reiterating what Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman“ of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has earlier stated – “We want to provide multiple and diversified sources of income to the Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries, create livelihood opportunities for themselves so that they will have the ability to access basic social services after five years of being Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries,” DSWD Field Office Eight Director Leticia Corillo bared that the region is fast tracking the implementation of the Department’s Sustainable Livelihood Program so they (the beneficiaries) will be able to get out of their survival and subsistence levels, and attain self-sufficiency!

Corillo said this is a strategy that will help carry beneficiaries to the path of development, citing the DSWD’s Self-Employment Assistance – Kaunlaran program which provides non-collateral and interest – free loans to community-based associations, as well as other benefits like training them on basic business management skills and eventually accessing them to formal credit facilities.

“They will no longer be mere observers in the development process because once the beneficiaries learn how to manage their own micro-enterprises, there is no stopping for them to rise, even higher, above poverty!

Hermanito Mangalao, the Regional Project Development Officer and focal person of the SEA-K program revealed that last March of this year, the Field Office conducted the Municipal Level Environmental Scanning with the help of local government units in the PANTAWID PAMILYANG PILIPINO PROGRAM (PANTAWID PAMILYA) areas in Western Samar and Northern Samar,  Ten municipalities, out of the 25 PANTAWID PAMILYA areas (to include one city) of Western Samar, and five from the ten municipalities of Northern Samar, came as a result for priority under the livelihood program for year 2011.

For Northern Samar (under the PANTAWID PAMILYA Set 1 implementation), identified were Mondragon, Palapag, Catubig, San Roque, and Pambujan, with a total of 150 beneficiaries.   The municipalities of Basey, Calbiga, Calbayog, Daram, Gandara, Pagsangjan, Paranas, Pinabacdao, Tagapul-an, and Tarangnan were given priority for the Set 2 areas of the PANTAWID PAMILYA program implementation, with 300 beneficiaries.

As of to date, these would-be beneficiaries of the SEA-K program are now undergoing social preparation activities and then, basic business management trainings, before the seed capital of Php 300,000.00 will be released to the SEA-K Association of 30 members. Mangalao, however, said each beneficiary will pursue its own enterprise but the loan is considered as one, with its members using peer pressure to encourage payment of their obligations, as well as forced savings or capital build-up, for the association to eventually lend money to other members of the community.

‘This means that under the SEA-K level 1, each beneficiary gets Php 10,000.00 each, to be paid in a period of three years. Once they have successfully rolled back their loans, the beneficiary can avail of the level II which allows them a loan of Php 20,000.00 each. Such can be used for the expansion of their ventures, and even home improvement, Mangalao revealed.

Mangalao bared that the beauty of the program also lies in the fact that not only the beneficiaries become economically active but socially as well. He added that there are many success stories about the program, with the beneficiaries becoming concern not only of themselves but the community as a whole.