TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (PIA) - - “Finally, 4Ps is now in Batanes!”. 

This was the tearful statement of Batanes Governor Marilou H. Cayco as employees of the Department of Social Welfare and Development Region (DSWD) distributed cash cards to beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) for the first time in the province, marking the official start of the program in the nation’s northernmost province.

For over a decade, the island province was the only province in the country that was not covered by the program because of its high human development index and zero poverty incidence based on the report released by the Philippine Statistics Authority-National Statistical Coordination Board (PSA-NSCB) in 2009.

“At the onset of the implementation of 4Ps, Batanes was not included in the program. But now with its inclusion, we are further solidifying the program's vision to eradicate poverty without leaving a province behind,” said DSWD Regional Director Lucia S. Alan during the recent ceremonial launching of 4Ps in Basco, Batanes. 

Alan said it took a lot of effort, including constant coordination with the DSWD Central Office, other concerned agencies, and the provincial government to implement the 4Ps in Batanes. 

As part of the agency’s commitment to expand its scope and to exclude no one, Alan said they conducted an assessment of identified poor families in the province to include them in the program early last year.

She said of the 438 validated potential beneficiaries identified as “poor” by the Listahanan, an information management system that identifies who and where the poor are, only 297 households were eligible for inclusion in the 4Ps. 

Cayco, on the other hand, expressed her appreciation to DSWD for the inclusion of the province among the geographical coverage of the program, noting that the 4Ps will contribute in the provincial government’s poverty reduction strategies. 

The governor sees the 4Ps program as a significant aid in her ongoing advocacy to help less fortunate families break free from the chains of poverty and improve the quality of their lives. 

The 4Ps program aimed at helping poor Filipino families improve their lives through cash grants for education, health, rice subsidies, and other government interventions to improve their family situation. 

To date, there are 128,073 total household beneficiaries in Cagayan Valley receiving monthly cash grants amounting to P300 per child enrolled in daycare and elementary, P500 per child enrolled in junior high, P700 per child enrolled in senior high, and P750 per household for the health and nutrition component of the program. (ALM/PIA Region 2)