KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato (PIA) -- The City Government here will start the implementation of Social Protection Program for Adolescent Mothers and the Children (SPPAMC) once funds are downloaded to the city government, Councilor Ellen Grace Subere-Albios, chairwoman of the Committee an Women and Children, said in a press conference Wednesday.
Koronadal City is the first local government unit in Soccsksargen Region to pilot the SPPAMC, a social protective intervention program crafted by the Commission on Population and Development (PopCom) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) that caters to the needs of young and indigent adolescent mothers, aged 18 years old and below.
Subere-Albios said, in the initial implementation of the project, 50 indigent mothers will receive monthly financial assistance of P500 per month for 6 months.
"We are also lobbying with the DSWD for the program to not only provide financial assistance but also give livelihood. That's what we are working on," she said.
The city councilor hopes Koronadal City would become a model from which other local government units could pattern similar programs.
"Since this is only a pilot program, the experience of the city government in implementing this project will also be an opportunity for other LGUs to replicate," she said.
The city government has already identified the first 50 teenage mothers who will benefit from the SPPAMC.
In January, the Sangguniang Panlungsod passed a resolution authorizing Mayor Eliordo Ogena to sign a memorandum of agreement with PopCom for the implementation of SPPAMC in Koronadal City.
Citing available data, Subere-Albios disclosed that Koronadal City recorded more than 460 teenage girls in 2021; of these more than 200 eventually became mothers. (PIA XII)