BALBALAN, Kalinga – The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) may soon exit from this municipality, according to Rits Aquino of the Department of Social Welfare and Development provincial office.
This was the assessment of the DSWD-Kalinga presented during a recent meeting with municipal officials led by Mayor Eric Gonayon and local counterparts.
The DSWD team said it found the program is gaining progress in alleviating the quality of life of the poor families in the municipality.
Using the standard assessment indicators set by the DSWD national office in validating the conditions of Pantawid beneficiaries, the team found that out of the 723 families enrolled, 397 families have reached the Self-Sufficiency Level, 326 families leveled up to Subsistence Life, and no family is living under the Survival Level.
This development is attributed to the moving out of beneficiaries from the municipality. Some families waived their enrolment to the 4Ps and some graduated from the program.
“However, the program may still continue in as much as the 4Ps is already institutionalized by the national government through the passage of a law that mandates its implementation for those still in need of the program,” Aquino said.
She said the inclusion of Balbalan in the Pantawid program in the future may happen if DSWD national office that conducts the Listahanan every two years finds other families in need of the conditional cash transfer assistance.
The Listahanan is an information management system that identifies who and where the poor are situated around the country. This system is also known as the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction. – Peter A. Balocnit
