Convergence program for poverty reduction, a huge success in IN

By Leilanie G. Adriano

Staff reporter

Laoag City—Leading the way towards reducing poverty in the Philippines, Ilocos Norte, the home of hardworking Ilocanos is laying the foundation for building stronger partnerships and bringing various stakeholders together to achieve a common goal—goodbye hunger, hello food security. 

As one of the least impoverished provinces in the country, the convergence of interests among multi-sectoral groups composed of public and private stakeholders is changing the economic landscape of the marginalized sector, particularly fishermen, farmers, children, self-employed people, unpaid family workers, and women. 

This is evident in the localization of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) program of the provincial government under the leadership of Ilocos Norte Governor Ma. Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos which runs parallel to President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III’s priority development agenda to eliminate hunger, promote food security, and reduce poverty incidence among Filipinos. 

Based on the latest monitoring of the nationwide implementation of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), no less than the Dept. of Social Welfare and Development Sec. Corazon “Dinky” Soliman cited Ilocos Norte as model province in its drive to reduce poverty incidence here. 

Of the 247,882 identified poor households in Region 1, it was reported that only 10% or 24,890 indigents reside in Ilocos Norte. All their basic needs were attended to by the joint effort of DSWD and the provincial government of Ilocos Norte in collaboration with inter-government agencies and interest groups here.   

“Actually, Ilocos Norte is very close to what DSWD and the Millennium Development Goals were trying to achieve which is to eliminate extreme poverty and hunger,” Ms. Soliman said during her recent visit to Laoag City. 

Through the DSWD’s Listahanan program, identifying the specific names and locations of the poorest of the poor in a certain barangay, the Ilocos Norte government was the first in Ilocos region to make use of this useful data to empower and provide government assistance to these vulnerable sectors. They are composed of local fishermen and farmers, who remained the poorest among the nine basic sectors in the Philippines with poverty incidence at 39.2 percent and 38.3 percent respectively in 2012 based on a data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority which validated DSWD’s National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction. 

Of the national average of 24.9 percent poverty incidence, Ilocos Norte posted a mere 9.2 percent poverty incidence. This data suggests that the province has already graduated from extreme poverty as it moves towards self-sufficiency.

For her part, Ms. Marcos expressed her appreciation to the national government’s poverty reduction programs being implemented by DSWD in the local level. 

Ms. Marcos said the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), or 4Ps, is very effective considering the beneficiaries’ conscious utilization of their cash grants. 

Like the Hilario couple of three children of Brgy. Maanteng in Solsona, Ilocos Norte, Remigio, 37, said his house made of lightweight materials was among those hit badly by a typhoon three years ago. Starting all over again could have been so hard for the growing Hilario family but thanks to the DSWD’s ‘cash for work’ program, he was commissioned for a 10-day work and got paid of around 3,000 pesos. He used the money to start a vermiculture project, the Solsona government has been promoting to farmers to adopt. 

Starting from a kilo of African night crawlers, which he feeds with readily available waste materials from home and the farm lands, he now maintains at least 30 kilos of vermi worms that produces organic fertilizer. These organic fertilizers are directly sold to the Solsona government and the latter matches to potential market such as farmer’s cooperatives, government agencies and other commercial traders who are in need of organic fertilizer. 

Moving from a typical ‘bahay kubo”, the Hilario family’s house is now transformed into a semi-furnished two-room bungalow.  Thanks to his regular income from selling organic fertilizer which is now becoming a hit for Ilocos farmers engaged in organic farming. 

The Hilario family thanked the concerted efforts of the DSWD and the Solsona government in providing the capital assistance and in helping him gain a sustainable income from vermiculture. 

Now on its fifth year, the sustainable livelihood program now being adopted by all local government units of Ilocos Norte provides entrepreneurial capacity building for all qualified beneficiaries. Said program offers two tracks of assistance namely: Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) and guaranteed employment. 

The SLP enables a recipient to establish and manage his own micro-enterprise through an entrepreneurial skills training program that includes the provision of non-collateral and interest-free loan amounting to about P10, 000 per family-beneficiary as seed capital. 

The program was launched in 2008 covering 160 cities and municipalities in 28 provinces in all 17 regions. As of June 2013, the program is being implemented in all 1,627 cities and municipalities covering 79 provinces including Ilocos Norte.