DSWD Modified Conditional Cash Transfer to register Sabah Displaced Families

The Department of Social Welfare and Development in coordination with the Municipal Social Welfare Development from Basilan, Jolo and Tawi-Tawi and DSWD Provincial Operations Offices convined a planning workshop to respond to the needs of the Sabah Displaced Families. The Modified Conditional Cash Transfer (MCCT) is a program that provides financial assistance to families affected by difficult circumstances. Families in need of special protection for MCCT includes those who were victims of manmade and natural made calamities, IP migrant families, informal setllers and families with children with disabilities, street children, out of school, child labor, abandoned, abused and children who were victims of other forms of exploitation.

The Modified CCT will be implemented by the field offices in collaboration with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the region who have the capacity and existing program for Families in Need of Special Protection. The Sabah displaced families will be given priority to be included in the said program with the same conditionalities as that of the regular conditional cash transfer. A biometric enrolment will serve as mode of registration for the Sabah dispaced families due to lack of pertinent documents being an undocumented workers in Malaysia. With this kind of registration potential beneficiaries will be authomatically registered with their fingerprints as proof of their identity. The system has also a security features to ensure the data information of the potential grantee of the program.

Usec. Hashim Taradji, in her welcome message expressed the biggest challenge for DSWD field workers to respond and extend social services to the displaced families. “There’s so much of us to do to strengthen and widen our efforts in ther delivery of services to the poor and disadvantaged, DSWD should take lead in the implementation of programs and services like the MCCT and the Pantawid Pamilya” Asec. Taradji added.

The two-day planning wokshop culminated with a work plan from different provincial areas like Jolo, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan including Zamboanga City. The workshop aims to draft an action plan on the different possible activities and projects catering the needs of the Sabah displaced families. It also aims to include the roles of the different government agencies in making the work plan more tangible and effective.