Shiela Roilo (2nd from left), a former beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), gave her testimonies on the positive impact of the 4Ps on her family during the Media Briefing and Thanksgiving on December 21 held in Kidapawan City. She said that she left 4Ps as a beneficiary to also give others the opportunity to get into the program and experience the benefits of 4Ps, a poverty-alleviation program of the DSWD that provides conditional cash grants to the poorest of the poor. Also in the photo are DSWD-12 Regional Director Loreto Cabaya Jr. (extreme left), as well as other DSWD-12 staff and employees. (Photo courtesy of DSWD-12/Audrey Jane Amarante-Soliva)
In 2011, Shiela Roilo, a resident of Barangay Malasila in the municipality of Makilala, became a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Region 12.
Since then, she said her family’s life has dramatically changed from almost having nothing to somehow having something to look forward to every month.
“Sa diha na mi sa program, financially nakatabang gyud sa amoa kay panahon wala na mi kwarta, mahurot among budget, dili na mi mangutang kay may grant na mag-abot [When we were already in the program, it really helped us financially because we didn’t have any money; our budget was getting depleted. But because of 4Ps, we didn’t have to borrow money anymore],” she said.
She recounted that every time a member of their family got sick or needed to buy something important, borrowing money seemed to be the next thing to do, until the cycle continued and they got themselves deep in debt.
“Sa wala pa ko sa programa, ang kinabuhi dili gyud drama. Lisod gyud ang kinabuhi [When I wasn’t in the program yet, life wasn’t really a drama. Life was really hard],” she said, adding that they had difficulty putting enough food on the table unless they borrowed money from relatives, neighbors, and friends.
Aside from the grant, Roilo said the program opened doors for her family to avail of free medicines from the health center. Later, they became PhilHealth members. She also said that being a beneficiary of the program also made her financially literate.
“Diri pud sa 4Ps natun-an namo ang pinakadako nga butang that we missed in our lives. Kana ganing pag-budget. Natun-an gyud namo ang pag-budget [Also here in the 4Ps, we learned the biggest thing that we missed in our lives, and that’s budgeting. We really learned how to budget],” she narrated.
Roilo is now one of the 1,223 beneficiaries of 4Ps who have recently exited the program following the positive impact that 4Ps has had on their lives.
The DSWD-12 paid tribute to the 4Ps beneficiaries from Pikit, Cotabato, in a graduation ceremony dubbed “Pugay Tagumpay”, which marked their exit from the program. The graduates were declared self-sufficient since they now have the capacity to provide for their own needs as a result of the 4Ps’ assistance over the years. (Photo courtesy of DSWD-12)
Records from DSWD-12 indicate that the beneficiaries that have withdrawn from the program came from the municipalities of Pigcawayan, Makilala, Aleosan, Pikit, Alamada, President Roxas, Magpet, Kabacan, Matalam, Carmen, and M’lang.
Taking pride in her long years of experience as a 4Ps beneficiary, Roilo is happy and proud that three of her children have already landed a good job, attributing it all to 4Ps.
This positive change in their lives, she said, made her decide to leave the program to give other people the chance to become members. She said their lives are okay now as her three successful children are helping the family provide enough food on the table and buy the things they need in their house.
Roilo expressed the hope that the program will continue “to be a blessing to the poor,” describing 4Ps as “a very pro-poor program” and urging the government to show compassion to the poor and those who really need uplifting the most.
“Tagaan nato sila ug pag-asa sama sa pag-asa nga gihatag sa akoang pamilya [Let’s give them hope like the very hope given to my family],” she pointed out, adding that she would forever be grateful and indebted to 4Ps.
Meanwhile, Emy Mayordomo, DSWD-12’s 4Ps provincial link in Cotabato, said that, at present, there are 70,898 total active households in the province that are beneficiaries under the Regular Conditional Cash Transfer.
Of this, she said the municipality of Midsayap has the highest number of active 4Ps households with 6,025, while the town of Antipas has the smallest number with only 1,352 active 4Ps households.
For the Modified Conditional Cash Transfer, on the other hand, Mayordomo said that there are 1,796 total active households as of December 2023, with 1,466 female grantees and 330 males.
Under the new guidelines, 4Ps beneficiaries are now only given a maximum of seven years to avail of 4Ps benefits.
According to the DSWD, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program “is a human development measure of the national government that provides conditional cash grants to the poorest of the poor to improve the health, nutrition, and education of children aged 0–18.”
DSWD-12 Regional Director Loreto Cabaya Jr. thanked the 4Ps beneficiaries who have exited from the program during the recent Media Briefing and Thanksgiving, where some of the 4Ps beneficiaries were invited to give their testimonies of the program. Cabaya said DSWD will continue to provide basic services for the poorest of the poor in marginalized communities and geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA) as one of the primary mandates of the agency. (Photo courtesy of DSWD-12)
Committing to strengthen the programs of DSWD-12, Regional Director Loreto Cabaya Jr. said that the department is bent on helping uplift the lives of the poor in the Soccsksargen region.
He cited the many pro-poor programs of DSWD aside from 4Ps, which also include Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS), supplemental feeding, social pension, balik-probinsya, and assistance to individuals in crisis situations.
“Our secretary has a lot of innovations and programs that he introduced to the department as he wanted to push forward the efforts of the DSWD to help the marginalized and those living in geographically isolated and depressed areas,” the official pointed out. (SJDM – PIA Cotabato Province)
