Journalists from Dumaguete City are scheduled to attend a Seminar-Workshop on Poverty Reporting in on June 3-5 in Cebu City.
The seminar, an Inter-Regional Media Learning Exchange Project under the auspices of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of the Department of Social Welfare & Development, will be held through the support of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade-Australian Embassy
In explaining the rationale for the event, Ariel Sebellino, executive director of the Philippine Press Institute said the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or the Philippine version of the Conditional Cash Transfer has been implemented in the country since 2008 to invest in the health and education of Filipino households, especially children 0-18 years old.
However, issues and concerns on the program’s sustainability, impact, and operation made some people to dub it a dole-out program that encourages mendicancy and fosters dependency, Sebellino said.
Analyzing the stories written and reported about the program, the misconception on the Pantawid Pamilya may have stemmed from misinformation and low knowledge about the program’s over-all selection of beneficiaries and operation, he added.
The program has initiated several activities like orientation and community immersion to reach out to media practitioners and help them have deeper understanding of the Pantawid Pamilya.
The Pantawid Pamilya once dominated the news as it was alleged to have beneficiaries who are not supposed to be included in the program.
The program is again being questioned in terms of its accomplishments in combating poverty. Despite efforts of explaining that the program is not the ultimate solution to poverty, some journalists and even public figures equate the program to poverty-alleviation. Many journalists also use outdated or incorrect data in their reports that resulted to information lapses, Sebellino said. (PR)
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