MINERVA BC NEWMAN
CEBU CITY – Some 3,044 persons with disabilities in 15 municipalities in Central Visayas received various amounts each for services rendered under the Cash-For-Work (CFW) Program for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Regional Field Office VII that released a total of P12,707.220.00 on December 3 in celebration of the PWD International Day.
DSWD-7 joined in the national simultaneous payout for the CFW for PWDs program of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) in Region VII.
According to DSWD-7 regional director Shalaine Lucero that this program provides work and other opportunities to PWDs that aims to give financial assistance to PWDs in exchange for community service, work, or task. The PWD
s worked for 10 days in their respective communities and received the minimum regional wage of Php 435.00 per day.
As of December 3, this year Cebu Province has 1,426 PWD-beneficiaries from DaanBantayan, San Remigio, Samboan and Sibonga. Negros Oriental has 962 beneficiaries from Bais City, Basay, Dauin, Siaton and Zamoanguita while Bohol has 656 from Antiquera, Dimiao, Lila, Maribojoc, San Miguel and Ubay.
Lucero thanked LGUs for accepting the programs and for helping validate the deserving PWDs who took part in the series of community works such as clerical work, community cleaning, carpentry work, and gardening.
“We all know that PWDs are among the sectors badly affected by the pandemic. They are also one of the most affected by the increasing prices of fuel, which resulted in a price increase for basic commodities. That is why DSWD, through our KALAHI-CIDSS program, initiated a cash-for-work program for them,” Lucero added.
In Sibonga, Cebu, Assistant Secretary Janus Siddayao and Lucero with local officials led the ceremonial payout to beneficiaries of the CFW program.
Romson Panganoron, one of the beneficiaries said that he has experienced difficulty in applying for a job, but this program offered him a job that he is good at, such as cleaning toilets and sweeping in public areas.
Lucero hopes that more families will allow their family members who are PWDs to be mainstreamed in society, allowing them to go out and join various sectoral groups and activities. “In this way, PWDs who are capable of having an education will not be limited to cash for work but rather create a future that is not limited for them,” she added.
Meanwhile, in Dumanjug, Cebu the DSWD-Field Office VII represented by Protective Services Division Chief Rosemarie Salazar facilitated the distribution of family food packs to barangay workers and/or identified vulnerable sectors such as PWDs in the Caravan of Services in Dumanjug, Cebu last week.
The caravan was spearheaded by the provincial government in partnership with various government organizations to bring government’s services directly to the people in the seventh district of Cebu. Some of the services offered were free legal consultation, medical and dental services, veterinary services, among others.
