This was shared by Cheska Calinao, 11, Grade 5 student who is a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, during the March 14 visit of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Directors in Barangay Odiong of this municipality.

The ADB officials visited the Philippines to check on the implementation of their funded projects in the country to obtain a better appreciation of overall operations, outputs, development impact, and stakeholder participation.

Pantawid Pamilya, one of the projects being funded by ADB,  aims to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty through investment in human capital.

It provides cash grants of as much as P1,400 to households with three qualified children to meet their education and health needs provided they comply to program conditionalities such as sending their children to school and health centers for check up, and attending family development sessions.

Cheska, who is the youngest among 10 siblings, expressed how Pantawid Pamilya has improved her family.

“Han kami naging beneficiary na han Pantawid, dako an kaibahan kay nakakaon na kami hin magrasa, nakakagproject na ako. Ngan an pinakaimportante ha tanan, an akon mama ngan papa nagkasundo na ngan mayda na nira time ha amon (When we became a beneficiary of Pantawid Pamilya, we can already eat delicious food and I can already do my projects. But the most important thing, my parents don’t argue anymore and they already have time for us).”

She related that  they  now have more time for family bonding.

She shared that at night, they would be singing and her papa would be playing the guitar.

She is thankful for the additional support to their needs.

Mayor Leonardo Javier, Jr., on the other hand,  shared how surprised he is on the impact of Pantawid Pamilya on his constituents.

He said, “CCT helps us get out of poverty by teaching the people. Children get educated and people get more concerned of their health. Because of the program, people improve their values, they are closer to their family members, and they are taught to be God –fearing.”

To date, there are 1,611 active household-beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilya here.

Nationwide, the program is serving 3,989,548 households from 41,263 barangays in 143 cities and 1,484 municipalities.