By Junex Doronio

MANILA — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Wednesday (12 June 2024) welcomed President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr’s approval of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program’s (4Ps) expanded cash grant for pregnant and lactating women.

During a Sectoral Meeting in Malacañang on Tuesday (June 11), President Marcos Jr. approved the DSWD’s proposal to include a First 1000 day-grant for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries who are pregnant, nursing, or those with two-year old children.

“Okay. Yes. Let’s do that. On the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, bring the mother, the family into the system. That’s really good,” the President said during the Sectoral Meeting that included the DSWD, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the Department of Health (DOH), and other concerned agencies.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, who attended the Sectoral Meeting with Undersecretary for National Household Targeting System and 4Ps Vilma Cabrera and Undersecretary for Legislative Affairs Fatima Aliah Dimaporo, welcomed the President’s approval on the expanded cash grant for the 4Ps program.

“The President gave us instructions on how we can improve the lot of our pregnant and lactating mothers, especially our poorer mothers,”  Gatchalian said.

The DSWD chief said the additional grant for the 4Ps program will serve as an incentive for the target beneficiaries to avail of health services and will address malnutrition and stunting in the country.

“This will serve as an incentive for them to have this what we call health-seeking behavior which means they will be motivated to go to the health center, register, avail of pre-and post-natal care, and post-partum  treatment, including immunization for their 0 to 2-year old children,” Gatchalian said.

He also explained that this proposed grant would only be for 4Ps subset beneficiaries who are pregnant, nursing, or those with 0 to 2-year old children and is just temporary until such time that they have passed through the stage.

The DSWD serves as the chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Zero Hunger (IATF-ZH) which has been directed by the President to prioritize the implementation and monitoring of nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive programs to address food insecurity in the country.

During a Sectoral Meeting last February 20, President Marcos instructed the DSWD to work with concerned agencies, particularly with the NEDA and Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), to sharpen the DSWD proposal.

Under the DSWD’s 4Ps program, a household-beneficiary receives cash aid on the condition that their children attend school and are brought to health centers for their monthly medical check-up.

Household beneficiaries of 4Ps with elementary students receive P300 per child per month for 10 months; P500 per child per month for 10 months for junior high school; and P700 per child per month for 10 months for senior high school.

Households also get P750 per month for 12 months provided that their children aged two to 14 years old undergo a growth development and monitoring program and deworming. Families are also required to attend the monthly family development sessions (FDS).

Meanwhile, the Malusog at Matalinong Bata Coalition (MMB Coalition), an alliance of advocacy groups, academics, and nutrition advocates committed to fighting stunting in the Philippines through policy reforms, has expressed its support to the DSWD proposal.

The MMB Coalition described stunting as a critical condition where children suffer from restricted growth and cognitive development due to malnutrition.

It said more profound impact is on cerebral development, with 80% of brain growth occurring by the age of two and 90% by the age of five.

(el Amigo/mnm)