PGMA’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program benefits 14,100 families in East Visayas

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
December 27, 2008

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  About 14,100 families in the hinterlands of Northern Samar are the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Ms. Yvonne Abunales, DSWD Region 8 focal person for the Program informed PIA that the amount of P5M has been released by DSWD to Land Bank Catarman for the beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilyang Pinoy in the covered municipalities namely, Silvino Lobos, Las Navas, Mapanas, Lapinig, Catubig, Pambujan, San Roque, Palapag, Mondragon and Lope de Vega, all in Northern Samar.

The anti-poverty initiative aimed to curb poor health, nutrition and school dropout rate problem, will provide cash grants to poor households in 270 barangays of the 10 municipalities of Northern Samar province for a period of five years.

Ms. Abunales said that on October 28, about 9,157 beneficiaries from six municipalities, particularly, Catubig, Lapinig, Las Navas, Lope de Vega, Pambujan and San Roque received their cash assistance via the over the counter mode at Land Bank Catarman which is the only Land Bank branch near the areas.

The cash assistance is for the months of August to September, was claimed over the counter pending the release of the cash cards from Land Bank.

On December 15, the beneficiaries from Silvino Lobos, Palapag and Mapanas received their financial assistance for the months of August to September. Mapanas is the only municipality which received cash assistance since July because it was the first to comply with the requirements, Ms. Abunales said.

On December 17, about 5,000 cash cards were released to beneficiaries by Land Bank and the beneficiaries were given their cash assistance for the months of October to December.

Ms. Abunales said that the 14,100 beneficiaries exceeds the target of Eastern Visayas which is 13, 919. The beneficiaries were carefully selected, Ms. Abunales said. Computers were used to identify the poorest among the poor, she said.

The 4Ps will provide at least P6,000 per household every year for health expense and additional P3,000 for children’s education, Ms. Abunales said. One household is entitled to three qualified children, 0-14 years old.

The program issues cash cards for beneficiaries to use and withdraw money from the Land Bank of the Philippines. While the cash cards are not yet available, the over the counter mode or the off-site distribution mode are used.

The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps is a poverty reduction strategy that provides money to extreme poor households to invest in human capital by sending their children to school and bringing them to health centers for preventive health check ups.

This is not a dole out since the beneficiaries have to do their part to achieve the purpose of the 4Ps.

The conditions are: pregnant women must get pre-natal care starting from the first trimester, childbirth is attended by skilled and trained person, get postnatal care and attend family planning sessions and mother’s class.

Children 0-5 years of age get regular preventive health check-ups and vaccines, children 3-5 years old must attend day care program/ pre-school, children 6-14 years of age are enrolled in schools and attend at least 85% of the time.