CV excels in 4Ps implementation

CEBU, Philippines - Central Visayas has earned a high compliance rating for the first quarter of 2014 on the implementation of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The regional compliance data revealed that 99.01 percent or 471,800 children beneficiaries in Central Visayas have been compliant in school attendance from January to April this year, while health compliance registered 97.42 percent or 83,771 of the monitored children ages 0 to 5 including pregnant mothers.

Beneficiaries of 4Ps are regularly monitored by the DSWD-7 in terms of school attendance, health status, and involvement on family development sessions.

To get the P500 monthly cash assistance, household beneficiaries must comply with all the health conditions like regular checkup for pregnant mothers and immunization for children 0 to 5 years old while school children should have an attendance of at least 85 percent to get the P300 per monthly educational assistance for elementary and P500 per month for high school students.

A maximum of three children will be covered by the program per household.

Based on the regional data, deworming of children beneficiaries also posted a 99.94 percent compliance, while family development session registered an attendance of 97.76 percent.

FDS is done once a month, wherein beneficiaries are taught about responsible parenthood like parenting duties, obligations and how to supplement their household's income through backyard gardening, handicraft making, among others.

DSWD-7 has 243,518 active Pantawid Pamilya household beneficiaries spread in the provinces of Cebu (118,503), Negros Oriental (65,561), Bohol (55,782) and Siquijor (3,672) as of July 2014.

Meanwhile, Arsenia Abao, of Barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City whose family has been a beneficiary of the program since 2009 shared she is hopeful that all of her four children can finish college with the help of the Pantawid Pamilya cash grants.

"I am now more optimistic because the cash grants helped me send all my children to school, and I'm proud to say that my eldest has already finished college and is currently working as one of the Pantawid Pamilya encoders in DSWD-7," Abao shared.

Abao is an active parent leader in Cebu City and is among the many beneficiaries of the program whose life positively changed due to her family's involvements in FDS and other related activities.

Pantawid Pamilya is a human development program of the national government that invests in the health and education of poor households, particularly of children aged 0 to 18 years old. It provides cash grants to beneficiaries provided that they comply with the program's condition. — (FREEMAN)