4Ps beneficiaries in Lapu-Lapu City graduated from the program on March 17. | Photo from DSWD-7
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A total of 115,729 household beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in Central Visayas will soon graduate from the program, which is headed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
According to a press release from DSWD-7 on Thursday, 79,205 4Ps households are from Cebu, including those in highly urbanized cities, while 36,524 households are from Bohol.
The graduation ceremonies for the beneficiaries, dubbed Saulog 4Ps Ceremonial Graduation, are still ongoing in various local government units (LGUs) on separate dates.
Several LGUs have already conducted their graduation ceremonies. In Cebu, these include Consolacion and Liloan on March 14, Lapu-Lapu City on March 17, Asturias on March 19, and Danao City on March 25.
Meanwhile, in Bohol, the ceremonies were held in Talibon on March 18 and Dauis on March 19.
These graduating beneficiaries have been identified as having reached the self-sufficiency level based on the latest Social Welfare Development Indicator (SWDI) of the DSWD.
The SWDI is designed to assess and monitor the progress of 4Ps households’ well-being and to facilitate case management for a sustainable transition out of poverty.
According to the DSWD, to be considered self-sufficient, beneficiaries should have enough income by the time they graduate from the program, be able to meet their daily needs, and have achieved at least the first two SWDI levels—Survival (Level 1) and Subsistence (Level 2).
“I congratulate each one of you for fulfilling what you committed to do from the day you enrolled in the program. You have dedicated your time, effort, and sacrifice to comply with all program conditions, and now, you are about to graduate,” DSWD-7 Director Shalaine Marie Lucero said during the ceremony in Lapu-Lapu City.
Lucero also encouraged the graduates to persevere, work hard, and apply the lessons they have learned from the agency’s monthly Family Development Sessions (FDS) as they strive to achieve their dreams.
One of the graduates, Bernita Tubio from Dauis, Bohol, shared her testimony, expressing pride that three of her children have already graduated from college, with two now working as seafarers.
Since January this year, Tubio has been working as a Barangay Health Worker (BHW) in her community.
“Naa pa koy upat ka mga anak nga naninguha nga makahuman og eskwela. Salamat sa gobyerno pinaagi sa 4Ps nga natabangan ko nga mapaeskwela akong mga anak,” Tubio said. (I still have four children striving to finish school. Thank you to the government, through 4Ps, for helping me send my children to school.)
Lucero also acknowledged the collaborative efforts of various national government agencies, LGUs, and civil society organizations in providing different interventions to improve the well-being of 4Ps households.
Launched in 2008 and institutionalized in 2019 through Republic Act No. 11310, the 4Ps program provides subsidies to identified poor households, including education grants for children to finish elementary and senior high school, health grants, and rice subsidies.