A Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiary in Batuan town in Bohol reminisced the time before they got into the program that life was tough for their family as they had difficulties with having food to serve at their table.

“Nakasulay gayud kami hasta pagpangita ug sud-an ibutang sa lamesa maglisod mi tungod sa kawad-on (We have experienced that we have difficulties in putting food on their table because we have nothing in our pocket).”

That was the line uttered by Jovencia Palingcod, 50 years old and mother of five children, during an interview about their life then, before they became part of the program.

Jovencia and her husband Zole worked together to meet their family’s needs despite facing various challenges, particularly when both of them were still new to their marriage and had just begun building their family.

The couple does not have their own regular income and they are only dependent on their earnings from labor and tenants as a farmer.

The difficulty was felt more by the family when their five children started to enter school.

According to Jovencia, there were times before that her children had no snacks or pocket money to bring to school.

The children do not have enough provisions, and sometimes they don’t have their own bags and cannot attend the extracurricular activities in school because the family cannot afford to provide for all five children. Most importantly, the food they bring to their table is the top priority of the family.

As the difficulty of sustaining the needs of the family became unbearable, her husband opted to drive a motorcycle within the town, hoping that this would augment the family’s income. However, such a source of income did not last long, causing them to sell their own motorcycle.

Her husband’s income from driving a tricycle was insufficient to meet the family’s needs, especially now that their children are in higher grade levels.

Becoming beneficiaries of 4Ps

With the advent of 4Ps and fortunately becoming a beneficiary of the program, the Palingcod family was stirred by the challenges of life to start another venture to sustainably meet the needs of the family.

“Ang natabang sa programa sa akong pamilya bililhon ug mahinongdanon tungod kay sukad sa pagsugod sa programa nga nakadawat ko ug cash grants, nahinayhinay na nakong mahatag ang mga gikinahanglan sa akong mga estudyante (The support from the program means a lot to our family because I can gradually provide for the needs of my children since we started receiving cash grants),” said Jovencia.

If before she did not encourage her children to take part in extracurricular activities because they could not afford it, Jovencia said that they could already provide the requirements, uniforms, and allowance for their children to go to school because of the program.

Jovencia, who is currently working as a child development worker in her community, started doing small businesses such as selling beauty products and dried fish around their barangay and some neighboring places. She also started her small agricultural business, selling onion leaves from her backyard garden.

Meanwhile, her husband continued driving a motorcycle in Tagbilaran City and earned more compared to before.

The combined income of the couple is now a great help to support their daily requirements and their children’s education.

“Wala nami apektuhi kayo sa kalisod tungod kay duna nay dugang financial ug abag sa among gamay nga kita kada bulan (We are not much affected by the crisis because we receive additional financial support in our earnings every month),” said Jovencia.

Jovencia stressed that the family learned to be resilient in times of calamity and to be progressive, loving, and respectful because of the Family Development Session.

“Sukad pagsugod hantod karon wala koy problema sa programa tungod kay nakatuman ko sa mga kondisyones niini. Ang akong mga bata maayo ang performance sa eskwelahan isip usa ka beneficiary sa 4Ps (We have had no problem with the program since the beginning until now because we have complied with all conditions. All my children have good performances in school as beneficiaries of 4Ps),” said Jovencia.

An Improved Family

Apart from being a child development worker, Jovencia has been an active member of different associations and participated in many developmental activities in their locality.

Meanwhile, the eldest of the family, Ma. Jobell became a licensed teacher and works at Candabong High School in Anda, Bohol. She was a Municipal Scholar for three years in college.

Same with the eldest, the second child Marian Jade became a license teacher and now working as a substitute teacher in Bonifacio Elementary School Aloja, Batuan, Bohol, and has a part-time job in an international company.

Mark Jay, the third child, took a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering at Bohol Island State University-Main Tagbilaran City. He is a DOST (Department of Science and Technology) scholar and a Card Inc. scholar.

Mike Jannel and Matt Julven, the two youngest, were senior high school students at Saint Anthony Academy in Poblacion Sur, Batuan, Bohol.

The hardships of life and the positive outlook of Mr. and Mrs. Palingcod truly inspired their children to be on top of their classes.

“Nagagikan natong mga ginikanan ang kalig-on sa atong pagpuyo. Ang programa sa gobyerno mahimong malampuson kung ang katawhan ug komunidad magtinabangay (It is up to us parents on how we improve our way of living. The program of the government will be successful if the people and the community work together),” Jovencia said, as she cited being grateful for the support that the government has given. ###

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