BENEFICIARIES of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in the various provinces in the Cordillera region gathered together as their way of Standing Up and Taking Action to help put an end to extreme poverty.

Last October 16 at 2 p.m., a total of 3,586 4Ps beneficiaries in the Cordillera sat down for the simultaneous conduct of family development sessions where they discussed issues relating to efforts at achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by 2015.

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As a way of making their message reach the community, beneficiaries, in white shirts and the logo of Stand Up Take Action pinned in front of their shirts, paraded around their respective communities as they walked towards their respective venues.

The 4Ps recipients from Mountain Province, Kalinga, Abra, Apayao and Baguio City held simultaneous cluster sessions/lectures on responsible parenthood, financial management, and other topics related to family development and poverty.

It was also an exercise of empowerment as the lectures were handled by parent leaders although the modules used were supported by local representatives from the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Education (Deped) and the local government unit.

The MDG is a set of eight time-bound, concrete and specific targets aimed at reducing, if not eradicating poverty by 2015. The Philippines is one among the 189 nations worldwide that adopted the MDGs as part of the Millennium Declaration in 2000.

The 4Ps, which is lodged at the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), is the poverty reduction strategy of the government that aims to break the inter-generational cycle of poverty by investing in human capital.

Since the start of implementation in the Cordillera, the program has shelved out more than P88 million for its 13,078 beneficiaries. (JebEscalante)