The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said more than 4,000 former monitored children of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) are now licensed professional teachers.
“This accomplishment highlights the positive impact of the 4Ps on the educational attainment of its beneficiaries, and the importance of encouraging poor households to invest in the education of their children,” DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao said in a news release on Thursday.
The 4Ps’ National Program Management Office (NPMO) under Director Gemma Gabuya has recorded a total of 1,225 Elementary-level and 3,129 Secondary-level education graduates who passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) since the agency started monitoring LET takers among 4Ps monitored children.
“In the recent LET given last March with the results released in May, we also have reported former 4Ps monitored children who topped the said exam,” said Dumlao, who is also DSWD’s assistant secretary for Disaster Response Management Group.
Among the former 4Ps monitored children who were topnotchers in the March 2024 LET were Khane Jevie Rose S. Cervantes (Top 1) from Davao Region and Jennifer G. Manrique (Top 9) from Mimaropa Region for the Elementary Level.
For the Secondary Level, topnotchers were Christian Albert B. Paskil and Clarence Joy D. Salmorin both from Mimaropa (Top 5); Jellian H. Calipes (Top 6) from Davao Region, and Joanne E. Cagata (Top 8) from the Caraga region.
“We are immensely proud of these former 4Ps beneficiaries who have shown dedication and excellence in their chosen field. Their achievements inspire us to continue our efforts to support the education of children of 4Ps households,” Dumlao said.
Clarence Joy Delos Santos Salmorin, who graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education Major in Science at the Mindoro State University (Bongabong Campus), expressed her gratitude to the DSWD for the cash grants she received from 4Ps.
“Lubos akong nagpapasalamat sa Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program sa pagkakataong maging parte ang aming pamilya sa benepisyo na aming natatanggap mula sa inyong programa (I am deeply grateful to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program for the opportunity to be part of the program),” Salmorin said.
“Nawa ay marami pa kayong matulungan na mga katulad ko na nagmula sa simpleng pamilya ngunit may malaking pangarap na maiahon sila sa kahirapan (I hope that you can help more people, like me, who come from simple families but have big dreams of rising out of poverty),” she added.
The 4Ps is one of the DSWD’s flagship programs aimed at eradicating extreme poverty and promoting human capital development through the provision of education, nutrition, and health grants.
The DSWD earlier said over 32,000 former monitored children of 4Ps have completed their tertiary education from 2016 to April 30 this year.
The program has recorded exemplary students. Some 82 formerly monitored children graduated magna cum laude, 1,135 cum laude, and 132 children received special distinctions. (PNA)
