Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo lauded the efforts of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries in the Municipality of San Fabian, Pangasinan after they started paying their monthly contributions to the Social Security System (SSS) through the agency’s AlkanSSSya program.

“I commend our program beneficiaries who have started investing in their social security. It is important to help poor families understand the need to invest in social insurance given their current socio-economic condition,” Sec. Taguiwalo said.

“With their SSS membership, our beneficiaries are ensured of assistance in their future needs, especially during times of emergencies. This project gives all those in the informal sector, including our program beneficiaries, easy access in gaining social insurance protection. It helps them become economically-able and sufficient. We hope that this will be replicated in other municipalities of the province and in other regions as well,” she said.

The AlkanSSSya program is a micro-savings scheme launched by SSS to enable members of the informal sector groups to set aside part of their daily earnings in coin banks in order to save up for their monthly contributions.

To date, all Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries in San Fabian are now covered by SSS. As members, the beneficiaries are entitled to a package of benefits under the social security during times of contingencies, including sickness, maternity, disability, retirement, death, and funeral. They may also qualify for loans.

In a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) recently inked by the DSWD FO I and the Local Government Unit (LGU) of San Fabian with SSS, the beneficiaries can save for their monthly contributions through “coin banks” in the form of large metal boxes with secure individual mini-compartments installed at San Fabian Municipal Hall. The savings are accounted for and collected by an SSS collecting agent at the end of every month. A beneficiary’s contribution starts at P300.

DSWD Field Office (FO) in Region I will monitor the contributions of the beneficiaries to ensure their consistency in paying their monthly contributions. The FO encouraged the beneficiaries to deposit an amount on a daily basis until they reach their monthly contribution.

Based on the Social Welfare Development Indicator (SWDI) assessment conducted by the field office last year, 2,051 of the 3,268 or 62.71 percent of Pantawid Pamilya households in the municipality have no access to formal financing institutions. Some SSS members who used to be active before turned inactive due to unemployment.

Pantawid Pamilya is the government’s flagship poverty-alleviation program implemented by the DSWD, which provides conditional cash grants to poor families to improve the health, nutrition, and the education of children 0-18 years old. ###