Poor households in 10 municipalities of this province are now entitled to receive cash assistance in the next five years under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

4Ps is a poverty reduction approach of the national government that provides cash grants to extremely poor households to improve their health, nutrition and education particularly of children ages 0-14.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development is the lead agency in identification and selection of beneficiaries based on the 2008 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES).  Besides DSWD and the local government units, Department of Education and Department of Health are also involved in this program.

In Zamboanga del Sur, the number of indigent families from the 10 municipalities would reach 50,000 to benefit the 4Ps, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer Conchita A. San Diego reported to Governor Aurora E. Cerilles as the latter signed the 4Ps Memorandum of Agreement last May 29 in Dapitan City.

These 50,000 more or less are residents of Dumingag, Midsalip, Sominot (of District I); Dinas, Lakewood, Lapuyan, Tabina, Tigbao, San Pablo and Vincenzo Sagun of District II. 

Significantly, all the ten mayors of these towns went to Dapitan City last May 29 to witness the supposed MOA ceremonial signing as President Gloria Arroyo was there to grace the 57th  Araw ng Zamboanga del Norte.

However, the activity did not happen due to time constraint.  Nevertheless, Governor Cerilles had signed the document in the presence of DSWD Assistant Secretary Parisya Taradji after the mayors of the 10 benefiting municipalities had inked their 100 percent support to 4Ps.   

ASec Taradji told Cerilles that the President has directed them to expedite implementation of the program before her State of the Nation Address this July.

Taradji describes the 4Ps as a conditional cash grants to beneficiaries to ensure that children of poor families must go to school while pregnant women are required to submit for a prenatal and post natal care at health facilities. They must be attended by skilled/trained health professional when giving birth to eliminate maternal and child deaths. 

San Diego for her part noted that this program would eventually complements with the Unicef’s Sixth Country Program for Children (CPC-6) which only provides trainings and school facilities minus cash assistance.

When enrolled of 4Ps, a household beneficiary can have a total annual subsidy of P15,000 for education, good health and nutrition of children as long as they comply with the conditions set for the program.  The household head shall be issued with ATM cards where he can withdraw the cash subsidy, San Diego said

But the total cash subsidy a household gets depends on the number of children sent to school, like with three qualified school-aged children can have a total annual cash grant of P9,000 or P3,000 per school year or P300/month in every child’s educational expenses. 

Nevertheless, poor families can have the P6,000 a year or P500/month for health and nutrition expenses of the children which requires pregnant women to get pre-natal and postnatal care and must be attended by skilled/trained health professional during childbirth

With Zamboanga del Sur’s 50,000 poor families from the 10 named municipalities enumerated above are part of the additional 319,671 households to complete the total of 699,016 households targeted as beneficiaries of 4Ps.

Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program was piloted last year in the 20 poorest of the 81 provinces across the country.  Zamboanga del Norte was among the pilot areas as the province ranked No. 2 of the 20 poorest provinces in the country.  (Remai S. Alejado/Zambosur Press Bureau)

Last update: 08-06-2009 03:58