Representatives of around one hundred Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from throughout the Visayas gather for a forum on Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program on November 13-16, 2011 at Sarabia Manor Hotel, Iloilo City. The forum aims to gather the views and assessment of CSOs on policies governing the implementation of the Pantawid Pamilya conditional cash transfer (CCT) program. It also seeks to gain CSOs’ support, elucidate areas for their expanded involvement and identify approaches for better mobilizing of a broader array of civil society partners.

This activity follows directly after the CSO – DSWD National Forum held in Clark, Pampanga last September 4-7, and is additionally part of the on-going Policy Review on Pantawid Pamilya in preparation for the full expansion thrusts in implementing the program. In a Statement of Commitment to the Pantawid Pamilya signed at the September national forum, partner CSOs and Volunteers called on other CSOs to support the CCT program:

 “As development workers committed to the goal of reducing poverty, we want the Pantawid Pamilya Program to succeed.  To ensure its success we encourage the active participation of civil society and the grassroots urban and rural communities.  Private sector support must also be mobilized for job generation and livelihood development.  CCT is not a stand-alone program; it must be complemented by other anti-poverty policy initiatives.  At the same time it needs public and private sector support to marshal the necessary resources and energies to be able to move the program’s beneficiaries from survival to subsistence to self-reliance.”

Similar with the national forum, the CSO – DSWD Visayas Cluster Forum on CCT is organized and hosted by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) with the support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in collaboration with AusAID and the World Bank.

Resource speakers include Director Tanya Hamada of InciteGov, who will discuss how CSOs can help in the further empowerment of CCT target population. Mr. Dennis Arroyo of the Social Weather Station (SWS) will also present SWS’ findings on independent Spot Checks of the CCT program. Other speakers and officials attending the forum include Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman of the DSWD, Secretary Florencio Abad of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Secretary Joel Rocamora of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), and Dr. Esperanza Cabral, former Secretary of the DSWD.

CSOs’ involvement in the implementation of Pantawid Pamilya is in line with the directive of President Benigno S. Aquino III on public-private partnership in the fulfillment of his platform of Good Governance and Poverty Reduction.  As of October 31, 2011, two hundred sixty eight (268) national and local non-government organizations (NGOs), faith-based and civil society organizations (CSOs) signed Memoranda of Agreements (MOAs) with the DSWD to be actively involved in the implementation, oversight, and expansion of the Pantawid Pamilya.

CSOs and volunteer organizations help facilitate Family Development Sessions (FDS) under the program. CSOs have also been tapped as validators for a recent “massive updating” exercise nationwide, facilitating the updating of eligible beneficiaries’ registration at schools and health centers. Some CSOs have also participated in Community Assemblies as part of the beneficiary identification process, taken part in an on-the-ground audit of the Compliance Verification System, and assisted in the Beneficiary Updating System and in implementation of the Grievance Redress System.

The Pantawid Pamilya is a human development program of the Philippine government that invests in the education and health of children age 0-14. It helps poor families gain leverage by giving opportunity for the advancement of the young people, breaking the vicious cycle of poverty transmission from generation to generation. ### (Pantawid Pamilya Social Marketing Unit)