HUWARANG PAMILYA: The CASTAÑEDA family of Manambong Sur, Bayambang, Pangasinan

HUWARANG PAMILYA: The CASTAÑEDA family

of Manambong Sur, Bayambang, Pangasinan

 

With their humble dwelling and simple lifestyle, the Familia Castañeda of Manambong Sur, Bayambang, Pangasinan, may look like a typical beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), but as they say, looks can be deceiving. Getting to know the members more deeply reveals how their journey out of poverty, so far, is nothing ordinary, considering the circumstances.

The father, Robert Castañeda, 46 years old, works mainly as a farmer, planting assorted vegetables including onion, tomatoes, chili, etc., together with other fellow farmers on somebody else’s plot of land. The mother, Ann Marie Lasquite Castañeda, 44 years old, works as a dressmaker.

They have four children, all girls: 18-year old Zsarhia Yvoune, 13-year old Rhoan Mae, 11-year old Camille Joy, and 10-year old Charree Gail. The youngest, Charree Gail, is a Grade 4 pupil at Manambong Sur Elementary School, while Camille Joy is Grade 6 in the same school. Rhoan Mae is Grade 8 at Bayambang National High School, while Zsarhia Yvoune is a freshman at the Pangasinan State University-Bayambang Campus for the academic year 2019-2020. The girls, especially Camille Joy, are doing well in their academic studies and extracurricular activities.

Family life

On a typical day, the Castañeda girls take turns in cooking, washing clothes, cleaning, and taking care of the backyard plants. 

The family members each strive to keep their dwelling sanitary and observe the law and local ordinances in dealing with their daily output of trash. They avoid burning their trash and segregate the biodegradables from the nonbiodegradables, especially the plastics. At the back of the house is a pit where the biodegradables are turned into compost.

To keep her family healthy, Ann Marie reveals that she makes sure there is sufficient daily serving of fresh meat or fish and vegetables and fruits. Their favorite dishes include pinakbet, monggo and adobong manok.

It is Robert’s policy that all members eat their meals at the same time, for he believes it is one simple way of keeping the family ties warm. They also attend Mass together and make it a point to eat out together from time to time whenever they can afford it.

How the family makes both ends meet

Today, Robert’s and Ann Marie’s collective earnings of about PhP4,500-5,000/month are not enough to make both ends meet. Fortunately, Robert has found additional work as the manager of a DSWD Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP)-funded agricultural supplies store owned by Manambong Sur Farmers Association in their barangay, of which he is the President. The store sells fertilizers, pesticides, and other farm inputs. As President, Robert leads in the search for potential farmer-clients and in transacting with existing clients.

On the side, he is also a marketing agent for other farmers' corn, onion and other produce. He also earns extra bucks by entering into 'arawan' (per day) arrangements as a farm hand.

Ann Marie, on the other hand, is the Chairperson of the Masagana Sustainable Livelihood Program Producers Cooperative, and in this capacity, directs the operations of the only existing registered cooperative in Region I that is entirely composed of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program claimholders. The group makes and sells rags, bags, sofa covers, and other products.

In their own backyard garden are sili (green chili) plants awaiting to be harvested or other vegetable crops, depending on the season. Their yard is also planted to fruit-bearing trees: coconut, cacao, guyabano, etc. They are also into raising chickens. (The kids used to raise turkeys and ducks, too, until a kind of flu decimated all of them.) These little backyard activities somehow help in their daily sustenance.

Community involvement

It is remarkable how the couple deal with the different hats they wear because Ann Marie is also busy as a Parent Leader of DSWD in their area and, as though that is not enough, also the Parent-Teachers Association (PTA) President of Manambong Sur Elementary School for six (6) consecutive years. Among her achievements is heading the fund-raising campaigns that made possible the improvement of the school’s fence and the putting up of three comfort rooms, surely a testament to Ann Marie's convincing powers.

The couple also contributes in keeping the barangay's communal vegetable garden, which won in 2017 in a local gardening competition called Bio-Intensive Gardening Day. 

Robert is apparently no stranger to hard work and odd jobs, for he was once employed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in 2015 as construction worker for six months in DSWD's temporary employment project ‘Trabahong Lansangan.’

Life before Pantawid Program

The couple has weathered so much more in the course of their marriage since they got enrolled as members of Pantawid. Before he became a managtaew (seasonal farmer-laborer), he took on several jobs in the city. Finishing only first year college, Robert has been a merchandizer, a picture frame factory worker, and a gas refinery worker. One time, he was forced to work overseas, in Qatar, as a piper for one year and six months to help his mother-in-law secure the land she had pawned. He had to give up the job after he suffered from arthritis.

On the other hand, Anne Marie, who also reached only first year of college, used to operate a small sari-sari store until she had to give it up when her second daughter was born premature and the family had to use the operations fund to pay for the hospital bill. It was, of course, a sad day for her, as the sari-sari store was the product of her great sacrifice as a domestic helper in Hong Kong before.   

Understandably, one of the hardest trials in their life as a family is the first daughter's unplanned pregnancy. Robert doted on her and had high hopes for her, but everything was suddenly dashed by that one big mistake. This is the reason why the Castaneda couple never fails to tell their three other daughters not to repeat the same mistake, as they emphasize how precious education is in reaching one's goals in life. "Yan lang ang aming tanging pamana sa inyo," they would advice. "If you do not want to end up like us, be sure to study hard." The couple said they were surprised that the eldest herself was the one who volunteers in reminding her younger siblings not to take the route she has taken because, according to her, it was a difficult, costly mistake.

Their secret to managing it all

The Castañeda couple is able to multi-task by applying the valuable time management lessons they have learned in the Family Development Sessions that they have religiously attended. “At first,” volunteers Robert, “nagtatampo ako sa asawa ko dahil ’di ko naiintindihan na ang pagiging Parent Leader at PTA President niya ay nangangahulugan ng sakripisyo sa oras sa pamilya. Paglaon ay naintindihan ko na rin noong ako mismo ay mainvolve sa Farmers' Association namin.”

Manambong Sur Punong Barangay Alain Lacerna knows the couple personally -- in fact, he addresses them as "kumpare" and "kumare." He attests to the kind of positive standing they have with his constituents. In fact, Lacerna shares that his kumare has been giving up her position in the PTA but the members were unanimous in protesting against her decision. This reflects the high level of trust she enjoys among her peers (fellow parents) and the school teachers.

In an interview, the couple does not hide the fact that their eldest daughter got pregnant at age 16, and this was a period of trial for the family. But the Castañedas were adamant in their decision not to let the unplanned pregnancy get in the way of her plan to pursue nursing. Next semester, she will be an incoming Nursing student at PSU.

How they spend their allowance

When asked how the couple makes use of the stipend they receive from DSWD, they say that every centavo is spent on the children's needs in school: bags, paper, uniform, snacks. "Malaking tulong po ang perang natatanggap namin bilang miyembro ng Pantawid Pamilya," Ann Marie shares.

Community activities

The Castañedas do not keep to themselves, not letting their socioeconomic status become a hindrance to socializing with the rest of the community, no matter their standing. During fiestas, they take part in entertaining visitors and attending the barangay fiesta program. They also participate in athletic competitions sponsored by the barangay. When the Punong Barangay announces a clean-up drive, they are also there to lend a hand. 

CONCLUSION

The Castañedas are a living testament that being a Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program claimholder need not be a badge of shame, that being financially hard-up can be taken as a challenge instead of a problem.

The Municipality of Bayambang is the 2018 National GAPAS Awardee in Microenterprise Development, and one crucial factor in its win is how the LGU, together with the Kasama Kita sa Barangay Foundation, Inc., lent a hand in making sure that the Masagana SLP Producers Cooperative venture thrive through the years. And in Bayambang's ongoing all-out War Against Poverty (Rebolusyon Laban sa Kahirapan), as embodied in Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao's Bayambang Poverty Reduction Plan (BPRP) 2018-2028, this Pantawid Pamilya family from Manambong Sur proves that the pernicious monster called poverty can be turned on its head and transformed into creative opportunities for wealth creation. (Photos: Jayvee Baltazar)