BENEFICIARIES of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) will be given additional benefit of rice subsidy this March, the regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Davao
said.
DSWD Regional Director Mercedita Jabagat said at present, the beneficiaries of the conditional cash transfer program are receiving a maximum of P2,400 monthly.
In addition to this, members will receive 18 kilos of rice, equivalent to around 800 pesos, this March.
Jabagat said the legislators agreed to convert outright cash instead of rice since it would be practical and favorable if direct cash would be given so that no additional costs and charges would be spent for transport.
It can be recalled that before elected as president, Duterte vowed to sustain the 4Ps and intensify the social protection programs in a bid to solve poverty and making the poor self-reliant.
There are now 203,753 active household beneficiaries in Davao Region as of 2016 and of this figure, 157,906 have elevated their status into subsistence while the 43,446 others are now self-sufficient which means they can stand on their own even without the support of the government.
DSWD Institutional Development Group Undersecretary Mae Fe Templa, meanwhile, said they are still far from achieving a free-poverty country since there are still many poor families that were not covered by 4Ps.
However, she added DSWD vowed to continue their effort in addressing the socio-economic challenges the Filipino families are facing and strengthen their services to keep the families above poverty line.
They will also intensify their Sustainable Livelihood Programs to comprehensively address the poverty incidence in the country by giving the Filipinos adequate training to acquire skills that could be the start in earning income.