GOV’T AGENCIES EYE 4PS BENEFICIARIES FOR TREE-PLANTING

DSWD urges 4Ps members to sign with DENR accredited groups so they can earn extra if they are tapped for the tree-planting program

THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Central Visayas urged members of the Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program (4Ps) to be members of accredited people’s organizations (POs).

This as they are about to seal a tripartite agreement between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7 for a fiveyear tree replacement program.

Racquel Enriquez, 4Ps regional project coordinator, said the cross-matching of names of 4Ps beneficiaries who are also PO members is ongoing.

“This is a very good opportunity for them not only to help the environment or of the community they belong, but also to earn something,” she said.

She said not all 4Ps members are members of POs, but she said they can recommend them to become members of DENR-accredited POs.

The DSWD 7, through its 4Ps program, will serve as a third party between the DENR 7 and the DPWH 7 as they will provide the manpower for the project.

DPWH 7 Director Edgar Tabacon and then DENR 7 Regional Executive Director Gilbert Gonzales signed an initial agreement last Jan. 8, 2019.

Based on the MOA, it will be

DENR 7 which will identify suitable planting or replanting sites that can accommodate the total number of trees for replacement. The agency will also undertake the planting or replanting of the seedlings.

Under the agreement, the DPWH 7 promised to allocate and transfer funds directly to the DENR 7 Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (Penro) concerned.

In Cebu province alone, P96,199,400 has been earmarked as seedling replacement program cost to cover 15 projects undertaken by the DPWH 7.

Every tree that will be affected by DPWH 7 projects will be replaced with 100 seedlings within five years, according to the MOA.

However, Tabacon earlier said that it would be better to involve the DSWD 7 in the said project, through the 4Ps.

The 4Ps gives various grants like the educational assistance of P300 for elementary students and P500 for high school students per month, the health grant of P500 per family per month and the rice subsidy of P600 per month.

In Central Visayas alone, Enriquez said, the 4Ps already has around 300,000 beneficiaries identified by the Listahanan, previously known as the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR.)

The initial signing of the tripartite Memorandum of Agreement (Moa) was initially scheduled last Tuesday, Dec. 10, but due to the unavailability of some signatories, it was moved to Dec. 18.

Enriquez said a social preparation will be conducted after the signing of the MOA and after they finalize the list of participating beneficiaries.

“The social preparation will entail details on what species to plant, how to plant, which areas to plant, and when to start,” she said.

In an earlier interview, Eduardo Inting, DENR 7 assistant regional director, said as of now, they are still waiting for a “go-signal” from their central office to allow them to plant the allocated seedlings in their identified National Greening Program (NGP) sites. /