His life will not be completed without having a drinking session with his barkada every afternoon or even until wee hours.

This is how 36-year-old Erma Gonzaludo of Brgy. Guintas, Leganes, Iloilo described her husband before they were not included in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.
Gonzaludo said they keep on fighting each other even in simple things every time her husband is drunk.

“I feel nervous when he is drunk because sometimes he gets jealous over nonsense things”, Gonzaludo said.

When she gave birth to their eldest son after more than five years of marriage, Gonzaludo thought that it would change everything but she was wrong.

She said her husband, who is a construction worker, still keeps on drinking and sometimes went home with nothing on his pocket.

Gonzaludo added that they could hardly buy milk for their baby and even eat three times a day. Apart from breast milk, she also prepared suam or porridge for their little baby to survive.

Added to that, the beneficiary said she also looked after her sick father, who was staying alone at his nipa hut, few meters away from their home.

Unexpectedly, Gonzaludo said she got pregnant again after several months because they are not practicing any family planning method.

She said her husband doubled time in his job but still their weekly income was not enough to augment their daily needs.

There was a time when she worked in a bakery shop to help her husband but she did not stay long because her father died and nobody could look over her kids.

Gonzaludo said it may have been her luck to be a plain housewife so she kept herself busy in planting vegetables at their backyard so that she could sell it in a nearby market.

However, everything has changed when they were already by the DSWD’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. Gonzaludo said her two kids aged four and five years old are enjoying the privileges given to them as Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries.

The beneficiary said that she receives P 2, 200 every after two months for their health and school assistance which is very helpful to their family.

“Once I got my cash assistance, I see to it that big portion of it goes for food, milk, school supplies and allowances of my kids,” she said.

Sometimes, Gonzaludo said her husband is the one attending the Family Development Program (FDS) conducted in their town if she is not available.

“We both learned so many things through FDS. My husband appreciates the positive change in our lives that is why he already stopped drinking liquor because he is afraid to lose the temporary opportunity given to us,” she said.

Gonzaludo said she is very thankful to the government especially to the DSWD for playing a big role in changing her husband’s behavior and point of view.

She added because of FDS they started rebuilding their dreams again especially that are blessed with three children./dswd6//Montesa Grino-Caoyonan.