DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/15 February) — Around 1.5 million of the 4.4 million household beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pampamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) across the country have been taken out of poverty, the Department of Social Welfare and Development said Monday.
Speaking during the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City, DSWD-11 regional director Mercedita P. Jabagat said they will release between March and April the number for the Davao Region.
She said the region has finished the Listahan Household Assessment but other regions have yet to submit their own assessments causing the delay in the release of the report.
She said the regions that failed to submit reports were those hit by disasters like the Eastern Visayas which was hit by super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) on Nov. 8, 2013.
The 4Ps or conditional cash transfer program is an anti-poverty alleviation measure that seeks to eradicate “extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality, reduce child mortality, and improve maternal health.”
The individuals assessed under Listahan Household Assessment are the recipients of the DSWD programs created under Executive Order 867, which provides “for the the adoption of the National Household Targeting System for poverty reduction as the mechanism for identifying poor households who shall be recipients of the social protection programs nationwide.”
Among these programs are the 4Ps, Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services, and Sustainable Livelihood Program.
In Davao Region, DSWD-11 assessed and encoded 835,831 households, surpassing its target of 793,770 households.
As of Jan.27 this year, the agency registered 234,213 household beneficiaries enrolled under the 4Ps. Most of them came from Davao del Sur with 63,890, followed by Compostela Valley with 57,404, Davao del Norte with 49,390, Davao Oriental with 41,294, and Davao City with 49,390.
The Modified Conditional Cash Transfer for IPs registered 10,828 household beneficiaries in Davao City, 10,088 in Davao del Norte, 6,336 in Compostela Valley, 2,461 in Davao del Sur, and 253 in Davao Oriental.
Beneficiaries receive P1,400 financial aid monthly, P500 for the daily expenses and P900for the education of three children with ages up to 18 years old. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
