Pantawid graduate in Medellin tells why she is 1 of 74,152 beneficiaries taken off 4Ps list

Audrey Secuya, 52, a 4Ps graduate, says she is willing and ready to give her 4Ps slot to someone who needs the program more than her. | Contributed Photo

LAPU-LAPU CITY, Philippines — For nine years, Audrey Secuya, a 52-year-old solo parent from Medellin, Cebu, has been a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

She was enrolled in the program in 2014 after her family was severely affected by Typhoon Yolanda in 2013.

Secuya said that their house was destroyed by the typhoon.

READ: 74,152 Pantawid beneficiaries in Central Visayas to exit program  

She is now a Pantawid graduate

After nine years, Secuya said that she is now ready to leave the program and give her slot to a more deserving new beneficiary.

“Yes sir, andam na gyud ko ug tagana nga mo-graduate sa Pantawid. Ug ako naning ipasa sa pamilya nga nanginahanglan sa programa kay ako duna nay anak nga licensed Mechanical Engineer,” Secuya said.

(Yes sir, I am ready and willing to graduate from Pantawid. And I will pass this slot to the family that really needed the program because I already have a child who is a licensed Mechanical Engineer.)

READ: ‘Pantawid’ is survey-backed

Domestic helper abroad

Before she was enrolled in the program, Secuya said that she worked before as a domestic helper abroad.

She was separated from her husband in 2002 and had to raise her three sons all by herself. Aside from this, the daughter of her husband from another woman was also left to her.

After working in another country, she returned in 2013 to her hometown, however, super typhoon Yolanda struck and destroyed their home.

READ: On Yolanda’s 9th anniversary: Romualdez urges Filipinos to learn from tragedy

Blessing in disguise

The typhoon, however, became a blessing in disguise because this was the reason that she was enrolled in the 4Ps.

“Since 2014, naapil ako sa Pantawid tungod sa Yolanda kay kusog kaayo ang bagyo, nabungkag gyud ang among panimalay,” she added.

(Since 2014, I was included in the Pantawid because of Yolanda because it was really a strong typhoon and our house was destroyed.)

READ: Yolanda survivors look back as they move on

Massage therapist

Even though she was already receiving cash grants, Secuya said that she did not solely depend on this. She enrolled as a massage therapist through the Technical Education and Skills Training Authority (TESDA) and became a therapist for several years.

“Dako kaayo ang tabang sa programa sa 4Ps nako ug sa akong pamilya. Una, naabagan ako sa pagpakaon sa akong mga anak kay duna may rice allowance, so sud-an na lang ang akong pangitaon kada adlaw,” she said.

(4Ps has been a big help to me and my family. First, it helped me in providing food for my children because there was a rice allowance, so my problem to look for everyday would only be our viand.)

Secuya said that she also availed the health program of the agency since 4Ps patients were automatically enrolled in PhilHealth, and in sending her children to school.

READ: DSWD-7 delists more than 17,000 Pantawid beneficiaries

One son is a licensed mechanical engineer

Currently, Secuya said that her 26-year-old eldest son had already working in Bicol in a power company, while her 25-year-old son was a licensed mechanical engineer and working in Manila.

Meanwhile, her 22-year-old youngest son is a second-year Information Technology (IT) student, while the daughter of her husband has graduated from Grade 6.

In 2021, Secuya also got hired as a job order employee in the Municipality of Medellin as a community empowerment facilitator for Kalahi-CIDSS or Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services.

The Kalahi-CIDSS is one of the government’s poverty alleviation programs which is implemented by the DSWD.

READ: 1.3 million families taken off 4Ps: ‘Grads’ from utter poverty

ReyNanay 2023 2nd runnerup

Aside from that, Secuya was also crowned as second runner-up in the recently concluded ReyNanay 2023 initiated by DSWD-7.

Secuya was only among the 74,152 4Ps beneficiaries who would be graduating from the program this year.

She said that she only knew that she was already considered as “non-poor” or had reached the “self-sufficient” level after she no longer received a cash grant since January this year.

READ: DSWD scales down 4Ps purge, to delist just 850K, not 1.3M

Reasons for exiting 4Ps program

Aside from reaching the self-sufficient level, other reasons for exiting the program is when the household no longer has a monitored child from 0-18 years old; if they already reached 7 years based on Republic Act no. 11310 or the 4Ps Act; and if they violate the conditionalities of the program.

However, for families who exited the program that has not yet reached the self-sufficient level, Catherine Trapsi, 4Ps case manager of the DSWD-7, said that they would be endorsed at their respective local government units (LGUs) for further interventions.

“Ang ating national government agency partners, civil society organization, at lalo pala yung local government units, sila yung aktibo na partner natin,” Trapsi said.

(Our national government agency partners, civil society organization and most especially the local government units, they are our active partners.)

READ: ‘Pantawid’ is survey-backed

Transition assessment

She said that a transition assessment would also be done to identify the further assistance that these families would still need, especially in giving livelihood assistance to them.

The transition assessment would last from three months to six months.

“Pero this is not applicable to all who graduated from the program, kasi may ibang pamilya nga kaya na talaga nila,” she said.

(But this is not applicable to all who graduated from the program, because there are other families who already could stand up for themselves.)

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