By: Rey Anthony Chiu

Working in distant places as house help was unthinkable for Ana Shirley, who has vowed to stake it out with husband Mauricio Bitancor, in good times and bad. Years later and having been blessed with seven children to feed, that promise would have to be broken. Forced to work away, the young mother left with a heavy heart. Mauricio would then have to left at home, to care for the kids and tend a patch of land as a peasant, of which the income is never enough to make both ends meet. To eke out a living, the husband was forced to cultivate a small garden to help sustain the kid’s food needs. Then, everything else was up to their prayers: that one day, luck tilts their way. And it did.

In November of 2009, the national government picked Pilar; one of Bohol towns in dire straits, as a beneficiary for its conditional cash transfer (CCT) packed in the Pantawid sa Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). Living in Barangay Aurora, a remote village with some of its farms submerged by the Malinao Dam Irrigation Facility, service access has since haunted the people: the lake forming because of the dam has positioned them at P50 habal-habal ride away from the Poblacion, which is only some few kilometers across the lake. Forced to take P20 boat fare to cross a manmade lake to get to the town center where services are, one can understand right away why residents of the village choose to rather stay in the inter-generational vicious cycle of depravity. Mired in poverty and compounded by contentious social irritants in irrigation issues, Mauricio, who is a church pastor, can only think of a miracle to pick them out of their sad lot.

Not really lacking in industry, the Bitancor family thought, if only there is something more they could do, they would rather bind as one and face their future hand in hand. The 4Ps presented to us a perfect opportunity, my wife need not go far to work, after all, the P1,400 per month cash grant would be enough to get us focusing on other tasks that can get us out of this sorry state, shares Mauricio at the recent Kapihan sa PIA. Granted with certain conditions, the cash grant can only be given to poor families which the National Household Targeting System (NHTS) for Poverty Reduction survey identified the poor families most needing the help, says Angelita M. Genil, DSWD 4Ps provincial link for Bohol and Siquijor.

4PS Conditions

Only those families in the survey directory like the Bitancors: with kids aged between 0-14 or with pregnant women, with no fixed income and are not government employees can be in the list, she reiterates. From 2009, when the Bitancors enrolled in the program, they still have Mary Grace at grade 5, Myra in grade 4 and Mauricio Jr. in Grade three, all eagerly attending more than the 85% of the school days, per 4Ps condition. The cash transfer grants P300 for each child aged between 0-14 (maximum of 3 per family) and another P500 for health assistance. This also makes it possible for the Bitancors to get P1,400 monthly in cash assistance. What is funny is that parents then, who used to ask their children to help them in the harvest, are now pushing their kids to school, lest their cash grants are suspended, Aileen Lariba, 4Ps information Officer added. The family also makes sure that their visit to the health center becomes regular and they do not miss any Family Development Sessions (FDS).

Family Development Sessions

A crucial part of the conditions for the cash grant is for the family to involve itself in the FDS, stresses Jocelyn Adalid, 4Ps social worker. Here, families are taught basic skills, health tips and share technology to equip them with the right capacities to work out solutions to their problems, Lariba points out. At the FDS, one of the sessions we had was about vegetable gardening. That was when we realized that it could be a good investment, Mauricio admitted. Wanting to earn more about it, the Bitancors took several other FDS very carefully learning about just anything they can on the livelihood option before them. With the DSWD in convergence with other government agencies, the Bitancors also took Farmer Field School (FFS) and agricultural technologists piled upon them new technologies, modern farming methods, free seeds and organic farming technologies. And our children too, when they see how serious we are, they pick on chores without even having to ask them, she Anna Shirley shares. Since then, Ana Marie, has long stopped working as house help in Manila, he said.

We learned the benefits of organic farming and getting alternative livelihood, adds Mauricio, who shared that apart from a bigger garden, they also ventured into hog and poultry production. No, it’s not the P1400 we get after every 2 months, it is the sessions that prove to be that which opens to us the way to honorably dig our way out of poverty, Mauricio stresses. Poverty is not just about income, it is also about access to services, he implies. “Now, we are happier. It’s unthinkable, us not sleeping or going together. We want this to be a lasting memory for our kids: loving parents in the hope that they too would build their families with the same bond,” Mauricio said nervously evading the camera. “Even our neighbors would tease us: Who is the jealous type between you? Anna Marie laughs while volunteering the information. Getting more and more engrossed on improving their lot and helping their community, Mauricio also crosses over as peer educator. On the other hand, Anna Marie, who heads the Aurora Women’s Organization constantly seeks ways to improve their life and bringing along their community through the natural hindrances to get them where the 4Ps wished they would be after the program expires.