Some 10,203 household beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) are set to graduate from the program this year, the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Region 10 (DSWD-10) said Monday.

Kenneth Haze S. Lustre, DSWD-10 regional project coordinator for 4Ps, said that of the number, Bukidnon has 2,472 households; Camiguin, 161; Lanao del Norte, 3,146; Misamis Occidental, 1,795; Misamis Oriental, 2,629.

The families will be delisted from the program because they no longer have eligible children for monitoring.

Lustre said the 4Ps program was first implemented in Northern Mindanao in 2008, with beneficiaries receiving the cash grants for more than 10 years, provided they have children from age zero to 18.

Some of the exiting households have voluntarily waived because their financial status has improved, she added.

“Majority of these households have improved well-being since the government has invested in their children’s education and health,” she said.

Lustre also hopes that even without the grant from 4Ps, the exiting beneficiaries would continue to live the values and practices learned from the program through the Family Development Session (FDS).

After graduation, beneficiaries would be turned over to the Local Government Units (LGUs) for the aftercare services based on the “Kilos-Unlad Framework.”

Kilos Unlad is a social case management strategy that aims to guide the households in achieving improved well-being, stepping out of poverty, and employing individual or family cooperation.

The LGUs are tasked to continue monitoring and providing support interventions, as outlined in the approved sustainability plan.

The turn-over of exiting 4Ps beneficiaries from DSWD-10 to the LGUs will be from April to June this year in Northern Mindanao.

Impact evaluation report

Meanwhile, DSWD’s three-year Impact Evaluation Report indicated the success of 4Ps in keeping Filipino children healthy and in school.

Some of the study’s key findings cited showed that the Pantawid Pamilya program encourages trial use of modern family planning methods, promotes facility-based deliveries and access to professional postnatal care, and improves children’s access to some key health care services.

Among Pantawid beneficiaries, the study said the PhilHealth insurance program covers about nine in 10 households.

It also said that 4Ps keeps older children in school and Pantawid children work seven days less in a month compared to non-4Ps children.

It said 4Ps increases households’ investments in education, does not encourage dependency or spending more on vice goods and allows parents to aspire for a better future for their children. (PNA)