A group of mothers, who were once beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in Laguna, has found a renewed role in society by becoming self-sufficient households as they embark on urban farming.

Marites Onganiza, a single mother of five from Barangay Pulong Sta. Cruz, Sta. Rosa City, Laguna, said that the government’s conditional cash transfer program has made a positive impact not just on her and her family’s livelihood, but on their whole community.

As a program beneficiary, Onganiza said that she diligently followed the advice of 4Ps coordinators to attend a series of capacity-building trainings that gave them additional skills set for their livelihood.

“I was just a simple housewife, but 4Ps have helped me by urging us to attend various trainings. When you take this to heart and attend trainings organized by the government seriously because it is important for my children to see that I am persevering for their future to serve as a good example for them,” she said.

“I was just a simple housewife, but 4Ps have helped me by urging us to attend various trainings. When you take this to heart and attend trainings organized by the government seriously because it is important for my children to see that I am persevering for their future to serve as a good example for them,” she said.

Onganiza, along with her co-beneficiaries, was empowered to form an organization to maximize government assistance given to their sector.

Known as the Samahan ng Magkakapitbahay ng Pulong Sta. Cruz, over 80 members of the group were given knowledge and proficiency in dressmaking, aquaponics, urban farming, and livestock management, among others.

At present, the members earn income by selling agricultural produce to the city government of Santa Rosa and other public and private partners as they receive capital and material inputs like greenhouses and mushroom houses to kickstart their programs.

To ensure the continued success of 4Ps in Laguna, the inter-agency Provincial Advisory Council for 4Ps underwent a Localized Kilos-Unlad Training to craft a 3-year Provincial Action Plan that lays down the plan for rolling out assistance and intervention for the program beneficiaries.

Programs for employment, skills development, ensuring higher income for beneficiaries, social security, health, housing, education, disaster risk reduction, and strengthening family functions and roles are the priority components of the action plan to be implemented from 2024 to 2026.

DSWD IV-A division chief for the 4Ps program, Nellibeth Mercado, values the continued implementation of the program as it has been proven that 4Ps contributes to an estimated poverty reduction impact of 1.4 percentage points nationwide.

The program has also helped households to regularly check their health conditions and has had a positive effect on their overall well-being as they feel that the government looks after them.

“The Philippines have already achieved a near-universal enrollment of elementary-age children for 4Ps households. 10.18 million children attend school through the help of 4Ps, while 1.9 million are in high school,” Mercado cited an impact evaluation report by the department.

She further explained: “Compared to non-4Ps households, 4Ps parents are now more optimistic about their situation and their children’s futures.”

In response, Maria Rowena Beatriz Inson, department head of the Laguna planning and development office said that the administration of Governor Ramil Hernandez will support the PAP as it will provide inclusive and responsive growth and development for Lagunense families.

“We always tell ourselves that we should foster a service environment among us, to be effective agents for alleviating poverty for the good of our public. We join the call of the national government for a matatag, maginhawa, at panatag na buhay, in which we align all our projects down to the LGUs,” Inson added.

As of March 2024, Laguna has a total of 40,063 4Ps active households. Many are still in the waiting list status, but DSWD assures that once correctly classified as self-sufficient, households will graduate from the program and in turn will welcome another set of beneficiaries. (CH/PIA-Laguna)