The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is pushing for stronger partnership and more impactful convergence with other national government agencies (NGAs).
The 4Ps National Program Management Office (NPMO) highlighted this during a Visioning and Convergence Planning Workshop held last September 10 to 13 in Tagaytay City.
“Matagal pa po ang return of investment, 10 years, 15 years, pero malaki ang tulong ng 4Ps. From this workshop we can still produce more topnotchers, we can still produce more college graduates from the children who were being helped by the 4Ps program,” National Program Manager and Director Gemma Gabuya said in her opening remarks.
Supported by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the workshop gathered key national agencies to identify innovations, formulate policies to enhance program convergence, and explore complementary action plans with other government programs that will help maximize the 4Ps’ impact throughout the country.
“So, I hope it will inspire us, makita natin kung ano yung “taya” o yung ways of sustainability. Maliwanag dito sa ating convergence na may makikitang results ng mga actions na nagawa na natin. So, I hope we will have a productive workshop,” the 4Ps national program manager pointed out.
Director Gabuya underscored that the workshop is vital in assessing the program’s progress after its institutionalization through Republic Act No. 11310 or the 4Ps Law in 2019.
“Limang taon na po yung batas, so it is very timely to check where we are? Sinasabi natin na whole-of-nation ang approach when it comes to 4Ps,” Director Gabuya said.
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Rosemarie Edillon served as one of the resource persons in the workshop.
The NEDA official highlighted the importance of adopting a whole-of-nation strategy in implementing the 4Ps.
In her discussion, Undersecretary Edillon emphasized the need for an ‘All Hands on Deck’ approach in aiming to go beyond poverty reduction and contribute to achieving the goals of AmBisyon 2040.
Another resource person, UNICEF Chief of Social Policy Maya Faisal, stressed the significance of enhancing both horizontal and vertical convergence across services to ensure stronger coordination and alignment of interventions among NGAs and local government units (LGUs).
The workshop was attended by members of the 4Ps National Advisory Council (NAC) and National Technical Working Group (NTWG).
Among the discussions covered in the activity were the overall social protection and poverty alleviation strategy; revisiting of the 4Ps implementation; and update and review of the convergence and partnership framework in the Pantawid Kilos-Unlad.
The participants in the activity include representatives from the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Technical Education and Skills, Development Authority (TESDA), Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), and NEDA.
The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), Continuing Professional Development (CPD), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Agriculture (DA), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (CHed – UniFAST), and Save the Children Philippines also joined the workshop.
Through the improved convergence with other NGAs and stakeholders, the 4Ps is hopeful to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty of more than 4 million active households by providing conditional cash transfers to improve their health, nutrition, and education.
DSWD 4Ps national program director reiterates use of 4Ps grants for kids’ education, health
An official of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reminded the household-beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to use the grants for the intended purpose of supporting children’s education and health.
“I hope sa ating 4Ps beneficiaries, take care of the grants. ‘Yan ang lagi kong sinasabi, na gamitin sa tama dahil ito ay makatutulong para mas mapaganda pa ang buhay ninyo eventually kapag nakapag-aral na ang mga anak ninyo at kung sila ay malusog,” 4Ps National Program Manager Director Gemma Gabuya said on Wednesday (September 18) during the second episode of 4Ps Fastbreak livestreamed over the DSWD’s Facebook page.
The 4Ps Fastbreak, the latest addition to the livestreamed programs of the DSWD’s Strategic Communications (StratComm) Group, aims to beef up public knowledge and awareness about the agency’s national poverty alleviation program. It is hosted by Ms. Venus Balito of the StratComm’s Digital Media Service (DMS).
Director Gabuya said the 4Ps provides conditional cash transfer to poor households to improve the health, nutrition, and education aspect of their lives.
“Para sa education—sa elementary students ay Php300 per bata monthly for ten months; pag high school naman ay Php500; at senior high school ay Php700,” the 4Ps director explained.
The 4Ps program also provides a monthly Php600 rice subsidy and Php750 health grants to each household beneficiary.
Director Gabuya emphasized that there is a maximum of three monitored children per household that will be covered by the 4Ps program.
Each 4Ps household is also entitled to automatic coverage under the National Health Insurance Program or PhilHealth.
They may also avail of the DSWD’s Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) or other similar programs offered by other government agencies or accredited private institutions, according to the 4Ps director.
The 4Ps is a national poverty reduction strategy institutionalized under Republic Act No. 11310 or “An Act Institutionalizing Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)” signed on April 17, 2019. It puts a premium on giving indigent families the means to break-away from the intergenerational cycle of poverty through human capital investments.
To date, the program has close to 4.4 million household-beneficiaries nationwide.
