50 more cities and towns in CV to benefit from 4Ps program

CEBU, Philippines -  Fifty more towns and cities in Central Visayas will benefit from the government pro-poor program after the Department of Social Welfare and Development expanded the reach of its Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps household beneficiaries.

 Additional areas in Bohol with 17,836 households include the municipalities of Balilihan, Calape, Catigbian, Loon, Danao, Clarin, San Isidro, Sagbayan, San Miguel, Talibon, Anda, Batauan, Candijay, Duero, Guindulman, Lila, Sierra Bullones and Valencia and the city of Tagbilaran.

 Negros Oriental, being identified as one of the 20th poorest provinces in the Philippines, has an additional 3,828 household beneficiaries from nine areas namely City of Bayawan, Dumaguete and Tanjay, Municipalities of Dauin, San Jose, Sta. Catalina, Siaton, Bacong and Valencia.

 As for Cebu Province, though it has the most number of identified towns in the previous implementation, it has identified 21 more with 41,119 additional household from 28 cities and municipalities.

 For the Province of Siquijor, 620 households were added from the Municipality of San Juan.

 In yesterday’s Pantawid Pamilya Ceremonial memorandum of agreement signing with additional areas of local government, DSWD Undersecretary Mateo Montaño said that the set five areas already covers 66,155 beneficiaries with a total of 206,390 household beneficiaries in the province under 4Ps.

 As of March 6, the cash grant disbursement for the set five areas already reached P33,708,300.

 “We thank the strong support of the local government unit. We cannot account for the success of this program without the active participation of the local government officials,” Montaño said.

 Under the program, beneficiaries receive P500 every month for health and nutrition and P300 monthly per child aged 14 years old and below, to a maximum of three children, for educational expenses as long as they comply with the conditions that include availing of health services for their children, pre and post natal care for pregnant household member, sending their children to school and attending family development sessions.

 DSWD-7 Regional Director Evelyn Macapobre clarified that the DSWD will be the one to conduct the assessment in identifying who will be the beneficiaries of the pantawid program and not the local government officials.

 Macapobre said this is to avoid any politicking or political accommodation.

 “Here in Central Visayas, wala man hinuon ta madawat nga mga report nga ang atong mga local government officials miangkon nga ilaha ang maong programa,” Macapobre said.

 The 4Ps program implemented by the DSWD aims to sustain the livelihood of the 4.3 million assessed poor households nationwide through the program.

But before they will be beneficiaries of the pantawid, the household should not have a regular income, does not own a business that generates a regular income to support a family, does not have a household member working abroad who is directly contributing to the household income and definitely should not be a duly elected member of any government office.  (FREEMAN)