AT LEAST 3,654 households in the municipality of Sultan Naga Dimaporo in Lanao del Norte received cash benefits amounting to more than P11.5 million from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) spearheaded by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The 4Ps is a poverty reduction scheme of the Philippine government that aims to meet certain human development goals. It provides conditional cash grants to extremely poor households, determined through an intensive household enumeration, to help them improve their health, nutrition and education particularly the children aged zero to 14.
Each household is given a monthly cash grant of P300 per child, with a maximum of three children per household, for their educational needs and P500 for monthly checkups for pregnant women and children at their local health centers and stations.
The Program, however, demands return from the communities by complying with the following conditions -- pregnant mothers should get pre- and post-natal care; attended by skilled health professional during childbirth; parents or guardians must attend responsible parenthood sessions, mother's classes and parent effectiveness seminars; children aged zero to five years old should get regular preventive health check-ups and vaccines; children three to five years old must attend day care/pre-school classes at least 85 percent of the time; children six to 14 years old must attend elementary or high school at least 85 percent of the time and they should receive de-worming pills twice a year.
The 4Ps is also being implemented in other municipalities in Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon. (PR/DSWD)