12,500 Cebuano families to get cash assistance

CEBU, Philippines – Some 12,500 poor families from the 18 municipalities in Cebu province will soon receive financial grants from the national government, through the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The concerned families will be registered as beneficiaries of the so-called Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4P's, a poverty reduction and social development program of the national government.

The DSWD officials said the 4P's aim is to end the inter-generation cycle of poverty among poor households by investing on human capital through education and health.

The program will provide conditional cash grants to poor household with children 0-14 years old where each household would receive P500 as health and nutrition grant and P300 for the education of the children every month. Meaning, if a household has three qualified children the concerned family can receive up to P1,400 monthly or P15,000 annually as long as they comply with the conditions of the program.

The DSWD social workers will start next month evaluating the possible beneficiaries from the towns of Alegria, Asturias, Barili, Badian, Boljoon, Dumanjug, Ginati-lan, Oslob, Samboan and Tuburan,

Other towns that will be included in the program are Borbon, Catmon, Daanbantayan, San Remigio, Sogod, Tabuelan, Poro and Tudela.

The 4P's program is also to be expanded to 12 municipalities in Bohol like in Alicia, Bien-Unido, Buenavista, Carmen, Carlos P. Garcia, Dagohoy, Getafe, Inabanga, Mabini, Pilar, Trinidad and Ubay.

DSWD officials said about 21,000 poor families from Bohol and Cebu provinces are expected to benefit from the program for the next five years.

The mayors and other officials in the concerned municipalities are encouraged to assist the DSWD personnel in reaching out to identified households for registration, othewise they cannot avail of the program.

Among the conditions for the beneficiaries is that the pregnant women must get pre-and post-natal care and be attended during childbirth by skilled health personnel.

They should also attend responsible parenthood sessions, mothers' classes and parent effectiveness seminars and their children 0-5 years old must receive regular pre-ventive health checkups and vaccines.

The children aged 3-5 years old must attend day care or pre-school classes and children 6-14 years old must enroll in elementary or high school and must take de-worming pills twice a year. (FREEMAN)