Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte – DSWD Region 10 has chosen the town of Kapatagan as its pilot municipality for the implementation of the Convergence program.

The Convergence program is the brainchild of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Corazon ‘Dinky’ Soliman. The new program aims to pool together the expertise of program implementors and resources of government to reduce poverty in the country.

“We are very happy to be selected as the pilot municipality of this program. We are also very thankful to the Dimaporo leadership for including our town as beneficiary of these DSWD programs”, Kapatagan mayor Benjie Baguio expressed.

The bundled anti-poverty program harmonizes the department’s KALAHI-CIDSS, 4Ps and SEA-K programs to generate impact on poverty reduction beyond what each project can accomplish on its own.

The Convergence program provides the three factors necessary to address extereme poverty: Social programs (supplied by 4Ps); Infrastructure projects (supported by KALAHI-CIDSS); and livelihood support (granted by SEA-K).

“Eventually all the towns of Lanao del Norte will benefit from this program. But for northern Mindanao, Kapatagan is the first town to avail of DSWD’s core programs”, Assistant Regional Director Aldersey Mumar dela Cruz explained.

During the launching ceremony, local women’s organizations who are beneficiaries of SEA-K also received their loan grants for their approved livelihood projects.

Expressing the provincial LGU’s support, Provincial Administrator Joselito Quibranza assured the town mayors present that “ten million pesos are already allocated as our counterpart for DSWD’s program in the province”.

Also present during the ceremony are municipal mayors from Tangkal, Pantao Ragat, Matungao, Kolambugan, and Baroy. VNL/PIO-LDN