Coron, Palawan – The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (Pantawid) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office MIMAROPA distributed Landbank EMV cash cards to all Pantawid beneficiaries in Coron, Palawan on October 25, 2019.
Eighty-one and two hundred sixty-eight household beneficiaries of the program from the island barangays of Brgy. Malawig and Brgy. Bulalacao, respectively, went to Brgy. Poblacion to receive their cash cards and withdraw P3,600.00 grant (P300.00 per month) from the Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) Program, a one-time cash subsidy given to 10 million poor households including the 4Ps beneficiaries to help them cope with the effects of the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.
According to Lynie Libero, a cluster parent leader from Brgy. Bulalacao, the beneficiaries travelled early in the morning by boat to receive the cash cards and withdraw the UCT grant. “Mas gusto po namin ang cash card dahil mas mapapabilis na po ang pagkuha namin ng grant sa pamamagitan nito,” she said.
This year, the Pantawid Program aims to release all Landbank cash cards to beneficiaries who do not yet have cash cards until November. This is in line with the efforts of the program to complete a more efficient delivery of payments. This strategy will provide “easier” transactions to the beneficiaries as the long queues of beneficiaries awaiting for their cash grants through off-site transactions will be cut short, according to Municipal Link Margielen Lazo of Coron.
“Ang nakikita lang po naming problema dito ay yung kapag may bagyuhan na at mahirap ang pagbyahe ng mga beneficiaries natin lalo na sa mga island barangays since isa lang po ang ating Landbank ATM dito sa Coron,” she added.
According to Daniel Rio, Financial Analyst III in the regional office of Pantawid Pamilya MIMAROPA, there are continuous dialogue with the Landbank office to partner and coordinate with cooperatives, small banks, and merchants in different areas of the region with limited Lanbank ATM to allow beneficiaries to withdraw their grants through point-of-sale (POS) transactions.
As of October 2019, there are a total of 40,075 household beneficiaries who have already claimed their cash cards this year while 126, 913 household beneficiaries are yet to obtain their cash cards.#
