The Municipality of Anda is very vulnerable to climate change being an island located in the province of Pangasinan, and needs to implement adaptation and mitigation measures to lessen or avoid the negative impacts to its residents especially those living in the coastal areas.
With this, the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office 1 (DSWD FO 1) through the Risk Resiliency Program-Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Disaster Risk Reduction (RRP-CCAM DRR) Cash for Work (CFW) Program has benefited 2000 residents who received P2550.00 each for rendering 10 days of work.
According to Anda Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer Jowey C. Celzo, “DSWD FO 1 has been our partner in providing social protection and welfare services to our constituents, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank DSWD for their continued support despite the challenges that we are experiencing because of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“The program did not only provide additional income to augment the needs of their families, but also created awareness on the importance of preserving and taking care of our environment,” said Celzo.
Further, Celzo added that the local government conducted a Climate Change Forum prior to the start of the program to increase the awareness of the beneficiaries on the different environmental issues.
Moreover, the program paved the way for the establishment of the community vegetable gardens and compost pits, rehabilitation of materials recovery facilities and mangrove areas, and improvement of road lines through canal digging.
He also said that several socio-civic activities were also conducted such as tree planting and coastal clean-up drives which were actively enjoined by the beneficiaries.
Barangay Batiarao Chairperson Maximo Catabay said, “We have many indigent families in our barangay, and we are very grateful of DSWD’s program because it helped many of our residents.”
“This program did not only provide additional income for our families to be used to purchase basic needs, but it also made us aware of the importance of taking extra care of our environment,” added Barangay Batiarao Beneficiary and Self-Help Group Facilitator Jenalyn Abordo.
A total of Php 5.1 million of payout were distributed to the 18 barangays.
The DSWD RRP-CCAM-DRR CFW is a program which aims to strengthen the resiliency of both natural systems and the urban built environment, as well as reinforce the adaptive capacities of vulnerable groups and communities in the country by providing the beneficiaries with temporary employment. (By: Anne Hazel Fajardo-Flores, Social Marketing Officer III, KALAHI-CIDSS/ Social Marketing Unit)
