Aquino to ‘4Ps’ graduates: Every attack against me was worth it
President Benigno Aquino III on Thursday said every attack hurled against him for the past four years was worth it when he saw the successful graduates of the government’s dole-out program.
In a speech before 11,000 high-school graduates and beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4P) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Aquino said that the government has earmarked more funds into the program as an investment for the future of the country’s youth.
“Pag tinitingnan ko nga po ang lahat ng nakamit natin, at ang konkretong patunay nito ay kayong mga benipisyaryo ng Pantawid Pamilya na narito, talagang naiisip ko na sulit ang lahat ng pagod, pang-aalipusta at pagyurak na ating kinakaharap bilang Pangulo (When I look back to all our accomplishments, and the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilya program are the concrete examples of these, it seems that every criticism and backlash I received as President was worth it),” Aquino said.
He said that seeing the first high school graduates under the modified conditional cash transfer program affirmed his belief that the “Filipino is worth fighting for.”
“Lalo po tayong ginaganahang magtrabaho at doblehin ang sigasig para lalo pang umasenso ang Pilipino. Lalong tumitibay ang aking paninindigan na the Filipino is definitely worth fighting for (We are more encouraged to work harder for the Filipinos. My belief that ‘the Filipino is definitely worth fighting for’ has been reaffirmed),” he said.
“Hindi po biro ang pinupuhunan ng ating gobyerno sa Pantawid Pamilya. Mula sa dinatnan nating budget noong 2010 na P10 billion, taon-taon nating tinaasan ang pondo ng Pantawid Pamilya (The amount that the government has invested on the Pantawid Pamilya program was no joke. From a P10 billion budget, we have raised the Pantawid Pamilya’s budget every year),” the President said.
He also shared an anecdote by a graduate of a skills training program under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) who is earning more than P200,000 a month in Australia as a mechanic.
Aquino jested that if he participated in one of Tesda’s program, he would not have experienced being attacked by critics whom he tagged as “kulang sa pansin (attention seekers).”
“Siguro kung nag-training na lang ako sa Tesda, maaabot ko ang sahod niya. Di pa ako sasalubungin ng araw-araw na panlalait ng mga kulang sa pansin,” he said.
In the end, Aquino assured the graduates that the government will extend aid to them so that they can realize their dreams.
He also told the youth that they will be the ones who will benefit from the reforms implemented under his administration.
“Asahan ninyong magsisimula sa maayos na estado ang susunod na salinlahi (Rest assured the next generation will have a better situation),” he said.
According to DSWD, more than 300,000 high-school students who graduated this March were beneficiaries of the 4Ps.
In 2013, children aged 15 to 18 years old were covered in the program to ensure that more children will graduate from high school and will gain employment after graduation.
Thursday’s program was also graced by various Cabinet officials including Education Secretary Br. Armin Luistro FSC, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, CHEd Chair Patricia Licuanan and Tesda Secretary Joel Villanueva who provided the services being offered by their agencies to the youth.
According to the latest data provided by DSWD, around 4,425,845 households nationwide have benefited from the program.
The program gives P500 for each family beneficiary as “health grants” while three child-beneficiaries per household are given P300 (elementary student) and P500 (high school student) each month for one school year as “education grants.”
DSWD said that the 4Ps has been implemented in 41,517 barangays (villages) in 144 cities and 1,483 municipalities nationwide. TVJ
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