THE Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD-7) announced the successful implementation of the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in Cebu.
DSWD-7 spokesperson Aileen Lariba said during the Kapihan sa PIA on Wednesday that the program lowered the incidence of poverty in Cebu from 57 percent last year to 37 percent this year.
Based on the report from the DSWD-7, some 39,047 households from 17 municipalities in Cebu were added to the program, bringing the total number of household beneficiaries to 91,986 and municipalities to 45.
Lariba said that the national budget for the program to alleviate poverty was increased from P21 billion last year to P39 billion this year.
Lariba urged the poor to register in their respective barangays before the second week of December to benefit in the program.
DSWD-7 monitoring and evaluation officer Raquel Daria said that in the whole region, beneficiaries achieved a 95 percent compliance rate with education and 94 percent with health.
She said the agency would temporarily suspend the financial assistance for households whose children did not enroll in school.
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.
Daria said Cebu City has the biggest number of beneficiaries with 4,502 households compared to other cities and municipalities in the region.
The 4Ps program implemented by the DSWD aims to sustain the livelihood of the 4.3 million assessed poor households nationwide through the program.
Daria said the agency is conducting a convergence of services at the different local government units in the region.
Last month, the Department of Public Works and Highways launched its “Trabahong Lansangan” project where seven Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries from the municipalities of San Remigio, Tabogon, Tuburan and Tabuelan were hired as laborers.
Daria said that under the project, 20 percent of the workforce needed by the DPWH for their road construction and other infrastructure projects would be filled up by the beneficiaries. CORRESPONDENT Rhea Ruth V. Rosell