By Junex Doronio
MANILA — Proving that poverty is not a hindrance to success, more than 32,000 former monitored children of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) have completed their college education.
Launched in 2008 and institutionalized by Republic Act No. 11310, the 4Ps is the national poverty reduction strategy and human capital investment program that provides conditional cash transfer to poor households for a maximum period of seven years to improve their children’s health, nutrition, and education.
“We are delighted that a total of 32,556 former monitored children under our flagship poverty alleviation program are now diploma holders. Through 4Ps, we aim to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty by investing in human capital,” Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Assistant Secretary for Disaster Response and Management Group (DRMG) Irene Dumlao said.
She added that the program has recorded exemplary students, with some 82 formerly monitored children graduating magna cum laude, 1,135 cum laude, and 132 children received special distinctions.
“These figures are a testament that the 4Ps and the funds of the government are being utilized properly. They are solid indications that DSWD’s 4Ps is a valuable tool in effectively investing in human capital,” noted Dumlao, who is also the DSWD spokesperson.
She said more than 6,000 graduates also passed their respective board examinations, making them licensed teachers, engineers, architects, and midwives.
“Just recently, another former 4Ps monitored child secured the top spot in the March 2024 Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) at the elementary level. Notably, from 2018 to the present, a total of 49 former 4Ps monitored children got the highest scores in various board examinations,” the DSWD spokesperson pointed out.
(el Amigo/MNM)
