By Rjay Zuriaga Castor
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported high compliance rates among the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) household beneficiaries in Western Visayas.
4Ps beneficiaries must comply with conditions, including attendance at monthly family development sessions (FDS), enrollment in schools for school-age children, and health checks to avail of the educational and health grants.
The DSWD recorded an 89.72 percent compliance rate for the education requirement among 4Ps children.
The compliance rate for FDS attendance was 96.82 percent, while the deworming efforts achieved a 97.40 percent compliance rate.
“What’s really good is that we now have many graduates who are teachers, social workers, engineers, lawyers, and other professionals. They themselves will lift their families out of poverty,” said DSWD-6 Director Atty. Carmelo N. Nochete.
According to DSWD data, the region has 361,756 4Ps beneficiaries, with Negros Occidental having the highest number at 138,722. Aklan has 30,158 beneficiaries, Antique 28,770, Capiz 37,262, Guimaras 8,788, Iloilo 97,248, Iloilo City 11,571, and Bacolod City 11,275.
To ensure the sustainability of the household beneficiaries of the 4Ps, Nochete emphasized that the DSWD has measures in place such as the turnover of the beneficiaries to the local government unit for aftercare services.
“They are also prioritized in the implementation of the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP). The SLP is a capacity-building program for the poor and vulnerable sectors and communities to improve their socio-economic conditions by providing them with livelihoods,” he added.
Nochete mentioned that the DSWD has extended various forms of assistance, including livelihood, scholarships, health, and employment services, to 56,620 4Ps households.
Specifically, 30,833 households have received assistance from local government units, while 8,923 households have benefited from other government agencies.
The DSWD itself has supported 16,864 4Ps households with livelihood projects.
Currently, 1,542 4Ps households are engaged in association enterprises, with the DSWD disbursing a total of P21.4 million since January this year.
Based on the DSWD data, there are 156 SLP associations in the region as of the end of May.
