SOME beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in Lapu-Lapu City are just grateful for the assistance the government has been providing them, even if the prices of basic commodities have risen while the amount of the assistance has not.
Arvin Cuizon, 50, of Barangay Pajo, told SunStar Cebu Monday, April 3, 2023, that they are just grateful for the assistance they receive.
Cuizon said his family receives around P2,200 monthly in assistance from the government, although it changes depending on their compliance with the program’s requirements.
Cuizon said he has two children. One attends elementary school and the other attends high school in Lapu-Lapu City.
“Okay ra basta naa lang, although usahay makuwang sad kay akong trabaho, fixer, usahay naa usahay wala,” he said.
(It’s okay so long as there’s assistance, although sometimes it’s not enough because I work as a fixer. So sometimes I have work, while other times I don’t.)
The 4Ps is a poverty reduction strategy of the national government, providing conditional cash grants to extremely poor households aimed at improving the health, nutrition and education of their children aged 0-18. Beneficiaries must meet certain conditions to receive the grants.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) launched the 4Ps in 2007. In Cebu, the 4Ps started in 2009.
Another resident of Barangay Pajo, who asked not to be named, said he has a five-year-old child currently attending kindergarten.
“Okay lang. Maayo na lang naay maka-support. At least makuha-kuhaan ang kabug-at sa gastos,” he said. (It’s okay. It’s just a good thing that we can get support. At least, it reduces the burden of our spending.)
Conditions
Joseph Namit, project development officer II and head of the DSWD’s program assigned in the city, said the amount that each household receives varies as it depends on their number of children attending schools, among others.
Namit said the education grant for elementary school students is P300 per month while it is P500 and P700 for junior high and senior high school students, respectively.
He said each household could receive a P750 health grant per month regardless of the number of household members as well as P600 in rice subsidy.
Namit said the schedule of the release of assistance is every two months, with the cash transfer still based on the beneficiaries’ compliance with the conditions under the program.
He said students should have an attendance rate in their respective classes of at least 85 percent; otherwise, they could not receive their educational grant per month.
As for the conditions for receiving the health grant, children ages zero to five years old should be brought to the health center once a month while pregnant women should have a prenatal checkup.
Apart from that, parents should also attend family development sessions in order to receive the P750 health grant.
Namit said beneficiaries are monitored by nurses and midwives in the health facilities in the city, considering that they have to fill out the compliance verification form.
Students are also monitored by the Pantawid focal person under the Department of Education.
As of March 27, Lapu-Lapu City had 8,939 registered and active beneficiaries while it had 1,586 undergoing registration, who will serve as replacements for those who already graduated from the program.
High prices
Inflation in Central Visayas hit 7.4 percent in February from 7.2 percent last January.
The inflation rate measures the rate of change in the prices of a fixed basket of goods bought by a typical consumer, including food, transportation, shelter, utilities, clothing, medical care and entertainment, as computed from the consumer price index or CPI.
Inflation has risen worldwide after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, beginning on Feb. 24, 2022, caused food and energy prices to soar amid supply chain disruptions due in part to Western sanctions imposed in a bid to curb Russia’s aggression.
Russia is a major supplier of oil, gas and fertilizer to the world, while Ukraine is a major producer of wheat and corn.