ILOILO CITY — It’s just like a market day inside the Molo Gymnasium when each corner was filled with displayed ‘fresh’ and ‘green leafy’ vegetable products produced by our local gardeners – the Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries.
Each beneficiary brought with them their vegetable products to showcase during the “Gulayan Project” launching held in Molo district, Iloilo City on May 26, 2017. The launching was attended by around 300 4Ps members.
As a pioneer project, the Department of Social Welfare and Development 6 (DSWD-6) through the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) has encouraged beneficiaries to engage themselves into biointensive or uban gardening to have a sustainable food source that will help cut their expenses for their meals.
City Link Glenn Ross Alavata said they have partnered with City Agriculture Office (CAO) to help them materialized this project. He said the CAO has provided them with seedlings and Technical Assistance (TA) in planning particularly in organic farming.
Alavata said 14 barangays out of 25 villages in Molo had participated in the contest. The Barangay Calumpang won first place.
“Most of them (household beneficiaries) in Calumpang are into urban gardening. They used plastic bottles, old cans, tires and other recyclable materials as planting materials”, he said.
Apart from this, Alavata said through gardening, it enhances the information of positive values for the beneficiaries such as cooperation, self-reliance, industry, and self-discipline.
Alavata added that some barangays are now earning and manage their income from the proceeds of selling vegetables plants for personal and community improvements.
On the other hand, Ma. Teresa Isip, parent leader of San Juan, Molo, said her three children are now eating vegetables after she and her husband has able to cultivate their backyard and converted it from dumping area to vegetable garden.
“I have learned a lot in our Family Development Session (FDS) because I was inspired to have a vegetable garden which is very helpful in our daily viand”, she said.
RICE SUBSIDY
The Department is ensuring that all Filipinos be free from hunger and poverty with the fast growing population in our country nowadays.
Thus, a rice subsidy in the amount of P 600.00 is given to Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries as an additional cash grant on top to the usual health and educational grants they receive every month which was released every after two months thru pay-outs or Automatic Teller Machine (ATM).
Chanderlyn Rile, FDS focal said the Department is encouraging all beneficiaries to maintain vegetable gardens at their backyard to make sure that nutritious food is being served on their tables to complement the rice subsidy which is a commitment of President Rodrigo Duterte during his first State of the Nation Address in 2016,
“As long as they are following the conditions of the program, our beneficiaries would get the P 600 rice subsidy per month or P 7, 200 during pay out period”, she said to the beneficiaries during the discussion on the update of rice subsidy.
CONDITIONS
Among the conditions for health are the following, regular checkups and vaccinations for children 0-5 years of age; twice a year intake of de-worming pills for children 6-14 years old; pregnant women seek healthcare before and after giving birth and attendance of parents in FDS while for education, day-care and school enrollment; attendance equivalent to 85 percent of school days for children three – 18 years old (maximum of three children only).//Montesa G. Caoyonan