TAGUIG CITY – There are family grantees of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program who exemplify how best the 4Ps has improved their lives. Here’s one.

Clarissa Mendiola’s Family is a registered member of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program under set 1 from Barangay Calzada, Taguig City. They registered in 2009 with three (3) children monitored in the program based on the Pantawid Pamilya Information System (PPIS).

Prior from the registration of the household in the program, the family shared their experience of having almost nothing. The income of her husband as a tricycle driver was not enough for their daily needs and she quoted “May mga pagkakataon na ang aking asawa ay namamasada at kailangan pa namin siyang hintayin makauwi  upang kami ay makabili ng pagkain “.Their family wasdeprived of opportunities to uplift their level of well-being, until Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-NCR) came to their lives.

In 2013, Mendiola’s household was endorsed by DSWD through Sustainable Livelihood Program  (DSWD-SLP) to the Department of Public Works and Highway (DPWH) as a street sweeper for 6 months with a 7,000 monthly salary. The Mendiolas were able to save their salaries for the purpose of having business as stipulated in the Plano ng Sambahayan. With this, the grantee stated “Naging masipag ako sa pagpasok at paggawa ng aking trabaho, at thankful ako para sa opurtunidad na ibinigay sa amin despite ng aking naabot sa pag-aaral”. 

However, on April 2016, the family was razed by fire, all their belongings were burnt. They had no other choice but to build a small house made of light materials and start all over again. With this, the family has appreciated the value of saving money even more. In 2017, the family had to transfer to another residence for the land they were occupying was privately-owned. The owner gave them thirty grand (P30,000) to be able to move and start anew. With the little money they had, they were able buy a tricycle that her husband can use to earn a living.

Through saving and proper handling of money, Ms. Mendiola now works as laundress with six regular employers and an on-call housekeeper. The family now owns three (3) tricycles,  keeping their very own savings account in Cebuanna Lhuiller.

For the past ten years as a Pantawid member, the Mendiola Family is very thankful to the Department for believing that even the poor family can uplift their well-being.

Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program’s impact evaluation shows that the program is on track in keeping children healthy and in school and its members’ community participation and civic engagements are continuously increasing. Hence, countless success stories showing the significant effects of the program prove that the poorest of the poor Filipino families leap their way through a self-sufficient level of well-being. ###

From the reports of: Ebenezer Refulgente, Project Development Officer II, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program Management Office