4Ps making lives better

CEBU, Philippines - The family of 26-year-old Gemma Estopa of Barangay Campusong, Borbon, Cebu had to contain a meager average income of P900 per week for their daily needs.

She takes care of her two children while her husband earns from working in a poultry farm.

“Di gyod na kaigo, sir. Lisod pag-budget. Bahala na lang ang sud-an wa basta masiguro lang gyod ang pagpalit (og) bugas,” she said.

She shared with The FREEMAN that she heaved a sigh of relief when help came in the form of the cash assistance under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), a flagship poverty reduction measure of the Aquino administration.

Estopa’s family became a beneficiary of 4Ps in 2010 and has been receiving P1,100 a month from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Estopa said the amount she receives monthly has helped her send her two children to school who are now in their first and second grade, respectively.

“Dako’g tabang na gyod ang 4Ps sa panginahanglan sa eskwelahan, makakumpleto na og butang sa mga bata. Nakalu-aglu-ag na, makakaon na pod mi’g tarong nga pag-kaon,” she said.

The Estopa family is among the 4Ps beneficiaries in Borbon town.

In a data from the DSWD, the national government has doled out a total of P87 million in Borbon alone since 2010 for the conditional cash transfer program. Noting the impact brought about by the program, DSWD vowed to help more poor households in the succeeding years.

This, as DSWD Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman reported increasing allotment for the conditional cash transfer program in the last four years of Aquino administration- P21.9 billion in 2011, P34 billion in 2012, P45 billion in 2013, P62.6 billion in 2014, and P62.3 billion this year. For 2016, DSWD asked for P62-billion allotment.

She attributed the increases to the significant expansion of the program’s coverage in the past years. The number of beneficiaries has reportedly reached 4.4 million this year from at least 300, 000 in 2008.

She mentioned the 300, 000 members of family-beneficiaries who graduated from high school this year as one of the significant result of the program.

The 4Ps operates in all the 17 regions in the Philippines, covering 79 provinces, 143 cities, and 1,484 municipalities. Its implementation is in line with the Philippine government’s commitment to the Millennium Development Goals, which include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, and reducing child mortality, and in improving maternal health care.

Soliman visited the beneficiaries in Borbon yesterday together with Axel van Trotsenburg, World Bank Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific. World Bank, a funding institution, also supported the program.

In a separate interview, Axel considered the program as a success, noting the increase of household-beneficiaries. — (FREEMAN)