4Ps in Pagsanghan town shows that government cares

By NINFA B. QUIRANTE
July 4, 2009

CATBALOGAN, Samar  –  The inclusion of some 715 beneficiaries in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is an indication that the national government cares for us, said Cecila Aleman of Calanyugan, Pagsanghan, Samar.

Aleman, 59 years old and a grandmother of two children named Jeoffrel 9 and Jessa 8 has cared for the two children since their tender ages left to her care.

The parents of the two kids are Aleman’s children who now live elsewhere as the kids do not like to leave their lola anymore.

Lola Sesing, weaves mats as her livelihood. She said in her younger years, she can weave two mats a week and earn P500 then.

The years though have been unkind to Lola Sesing, her speed has suffered and now she can only produce one mat a week giving her and her two apos only P300.

Her unfortunate state qualified Lola Sesing for the program.

Another beneficiary also from Barangay Calanyugan is a blind woman Ludensia Casaljay, 45 with an only child. She got blind some five years ago and her husband left her with one more mouth to feed.

These are some of the beneficiaries included in Pagsanghan’s list according to Ms Jean Renola, the 4Ps Municipal Link.

4Ps is a poverty reduction strategy that provides grants to extremely poor households to improve their health, nutrition and education of children aged 0-14 years old. It is patterned after the successful Conditional Cash Transfer Programs in Latin America and Africa.

Pagsanghan, a recipient of the program is a 5th class municipality located northwest of Samar’s capital town. It can be reached through a 30-minute river cruise from Barangay Concepcion, Gandara (situated in Maharlika Highway).

While Pagsanghan is not found on the top ten list of the poorest municipalities in Eastern Visayas, it ranked number six (6) in the list of the top twenty nutritionally depressed municipalities as gleaned from the National Nutrition Council (NC) 8 data.  A town is considered nutritionally depressed when it has a high nutrition prevalence vis-a-vis its population.

The town has an access to an all weather road constructed in the late 1990 during the second term of then Governor Jose Rono. The 14 kilometer stretch at present has highly deteriorated due to neglect in maintenance. The same road said Mayor Violeto Ceracas has transported then Senator Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to this municipality rich with molluscs, crustaceans and other marine products. Pagsanghan townsfolk said the road does not receive attention from the provincial government.

Pagsanghan is basically an agricultural community, said Jun Borata, Municipal Planning and Development Officer (MPDO). Townfolks rely on farming, fishing and livelihood brought about by their abundant nipa palms. Nipa has opened a trading partnership between the town and Bantayan island in Cebu and has provided livelihood for its barangays.