COTABATO CITY, Philippines, May 2 – The Department of Social Welfare and Development provided at least 200 horses to poor Blaan families in the outskirts of Malapatan in Sarangani Province.

DSWD regional assistant director Gemma Rivera reported Tuesday the horses provided to 200 households in the village of Daan Suyan were part of the of Modified Conditional Cash Transfer implementation.

The MCCT is an expansion of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, which provides a complete package of assistance to street families, including responsive shelter program, access to social services and economic opportunities for the improvement of their living conditions.

Under the MCCT program, an indigent family may receive up to P4,000 in monthly rental support payments for up to six months to a year.

“They are using the horses for their transportation because most of them are from the mountains of Daan Suyan,” Rivera said.

Juliet Clavel, program coordinator for Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, said they recently visited the area and found out the horses given to the beneficiaries under social service intervention useful.

The MCCT covers more than 22,991 beneficiaries in Region 12. (End)