The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), through the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program-National Program Management Office (4Ps-NPMO), is urging 4Ps beneficiaries to “actively play their part” in the overall effort to fight poverty by aspiring for self-sufficiency.

In a news release Friday, 4Ps National Program Manager Director Gemma Gabuya said DSWD continues to call for support from its partners in helping 4Ps beneficiaries achieve their desired well-being through the provision of conditional cash grants for the education, health, and nutrition of their children.

However, she said the “beneficiaries themselves will be the ones to stop the intergenerational cycle of poverty.”

“Iyon po ang long term goal ng programa (of the program). Short term, makapag-aral ang mga anak ng mga mahihirap (education for the children of the poor). We have to invest in their education and health because naniniwala tayo na (we believe that) the more the children are in school, the greater or the higher chance of getting out of poverty,” she said.

She also cited the critical role of collaboration among all stakeholders in achieving the program goals of self-sufficiency for its beneficiaries through “partnerships, convergence, and whole-of-nation approach.”

The latest program of the DSWD-partner-stakeholders collaboration for 4Ps beneficiaries was a financial literacy initiative with financial service providers.

The “e-Panalo ang Kinabukasan” financial digital initiative aims to educate, inform, and encourage beneficiaries to use digital applications for managing their finances, especially for the beneficiaries living in remote areas.

The forum with the theme “4Ps: Towards Beneficiaries’ Self-sufficiency” was aimed at discussing and strategizing on how to further enhance the program’s impact and sustainability among the representatives from both national and local government, private sector partners and with the beneficiaries themselves.

The forum provided a platform for the DSWD and its partners to determine gaps that needed to be addressed in pursuit of the self-sufficiency of the 4Ps beneficiaries.

It is part of the 5th anniversary celebration of Republic Act No. 11310 or the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Act of 2019 which paved the way for the institutionalization of the 4Ps.

The forum was attended by the member-agencies of the 4Ps National Advisory Council, National Technical Working Group, development partners, provincial social welfare and development offices, and 4Ps beneficiaries. (PNA)