ILOILO City – A total of 115,828 households in Western Visayas have exited the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) as of Nov. 27, 2024.
These households either improved their level of well-being or no longer have eligible children aged zero to 18 years old for monitoring under the program, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region 6.
The 4Ps aims to address intergenerational poverty by improving health, nutrition, and education among children, ultimately helping families achieve economic self-sufficiency.
Montesa G. Caoyonan, 4Ps information officer of DSWD-6’s Social Marketing Section, disclosed that 47,745 households graduated due to improved economic and social well-being as assessed through the Social Welfare Development Indicator Survey. Meanwhile, 68,083 households exited the program because they no longer have eligible children for the program’s educational monitoring.
“For households that have achieved self-sufficiency or reached level three based on economic sufficiency and social adequacy, we have identified 68,547 households among the active 4Ps beneficiaries,” Caoyonan shared during the 4Ps Program Update on Friday morning.
The breakdown of the graduated or exited households per province is as follows:
* Aklan – 10,311
* Antique – 12,699
* Capiz – 1 4,064
* Guimaras – 2,557
* Iloilo – 29,386
* Negros Occidental – 46,811
Caoyonan clarified that these figures are cumulative, tracing back to the program’s inception in 2007.
To ensure the sustained improvement of these graduated households, DSWD-6 has turned them over to their respective local government units (LGUs) for aftercare programs. The LGUs provide livelihood programs to help the families maintain and further improve their living conditions.
Currently, 334,815 households remain active 4Ps beneficiaries in the region, distributed as follows:
* Aklan – 26,514
* Antique – 27,411
* Capiz – 34,471
* Guimaras – 8,198
* Iloilo – 101,974
* Negros Occidental – 136,247
The DSWD-6 has disbursed a total of P6.99 billion in cash grants to these active households, representing 99.73% of the allocated fund.
The 4Ps aims to provide conditional cash grants to the poorest households to enhance health, nutrition, and education for children aged zero to 18 years old. Beneficiaries must comply with specific conditions, including:
* pregnant women receiving prenatal and postnatal care and giving birth attended by trained professionals
* parents or guardians attending family development sessions on responsible parenting, health, and nutrition
* regular preventive health check-ups and vaccinations for children aged zero to five years
* administration of deworming pills twice a year for children aged six to 14 years
* school enrollment and at least 85% attendance for children aged three to 18 years
The program, introduced in 2007, continues to be a crucial social intervention aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty through education and health support for Filipino children./PN
