The Department of Social Welfare and Development – National Capital Region (DSWD-NCR) was awarded the “Gawad sa Makabagong Teknolohiyang Panlipunan” award (Best New Social Technology award) in the recent “Pagkilala sa Natatanging Kontribusyon sa Bayan” (PaNata Ko sa Bayan) awards. The ceremony was the highlight of the week-long celebration of the 64th anniversary of the Department.
The winning project is a convergence effort that aims to improve the environmental situation along District One in Manila, while providing continuous employment for the Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries in the area.
Profile of the project
The project is called “Use of Environment Issue in the Community to Engage Multi-Sectoral Partners towards Sustainable Livelihood Interventions for Pantawid and Non-Pantawid Poor Beneficiaries” and is a multi-stakeholder effort between DSWD-NCR, the Local Government of Manila and the International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI). It aims to address environmental issues in the community, particularly poor garbage disposal in the urban areas of Parola compound, Tondo and Binondo in Manila. Beneficiaries of the project include the residents of the afflicted communities, ICTSI and motorists who pass by these areas. The pilot implementation of the project was on March 27, 2013 and is still ongoing.
Components of a good practice
This project was supported by a Memorandum of Agreement among the participating partners, who also identified the beneficiaries of the project. Also, they organized social preparation activities like consultation meetings with other partners and communities. Some 42 residents from barangays 20 and 275 were hired as Eco-Patrollers whose scope of work covers street sweeping, hauling of garbage and maintenance of cleanliness in their sectors. Of these, 31 are registered beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program, the flagship poverty reduction program of the DSWD. Under the monitoring of the ICTSI, the eco-patrollers enjoy benefits such as SSS, Pag-ibig membership and provision of “orange health card” by the city government.
Results through convergence of initiatives
Through continuous implementation, the South Access Road in Parola covering gates 1-20, are already cleared of garbage which used to be eye sore in the area. Likewise, they are making use of the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) which serves as a recycling factory for reusable materials. Aside from the fixed employment, the Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries who act as eco-patrollers also enjoy benefits and social insurances that help augment their daily budget and cushion the effects of poverty. The project also instilled responsibility and discipline to the residents through proper waste management and disposal. Moreover, the beneficiaries gained new knowledge on climate change, its effects and the importance of disaster preparedness and risk management.
PaNata Ko sa Bayan awards
The PaNata Ko sa Bayan award is an incentive-based recognition to partners for their invaluable support in espousing social protection. Further, it acknowledges the efforts of individuals, groups and organizations whose commitment is to share their resources for a better opportunity for the disadvantaged communities.
The project won because of its responsiveness or the ability to improve the lives of the beneficiaries, innovativeness or the introduction of a new strategy in addressing an issue, transparency or having a multi-level reporting and monitoring system, sustainability and replicability. All these criteria are provided on Memorandum Circular No. 16, series of 2010, which is also the basis of the award. ###