ZAMBOANGA CITY - The Department of Social Welfare and Development – Zamboanga Peninsula (DSWD-9) is set to register 7,192 new beneficiaries in its Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in the region this year.
Lawyer Sittie Raifah Pamaloy-Hassan, DSWD–9 director, said Wednesday 3,041 of the 7,192 new beneficiaries are from Zamboanga del Norte; 1,466, Zamboanga del Sur; 509, Zamboanga Sibugay; and, 2,176 for the cities Isabela and Zamboanga.
Hassan said the registration of new 4Ps beneficiaries is in accordance with National Advisory Committee Resolution 43, which institutionalizes a replacement policy that allows for the continuous replacement of beneficiaries with eligible ones that are not yet covered by the program.
Hassan said “Listahanan,” a project that identifies who and where the poor are, provided over 22,000 names to the 4Ps Regional Program Management Office based on the result of the household assessment in 2015.
However, Hassan said only 7,192 households were found to be eligible following the validation.
Before the validation, Hassan has ordered the full review of the identified potential beneficiaries for discrepancies, duplicity, and possible double-entry in the 4Ps’ database.
“We cross-matched the names on the list of potential beneficiaries before conducting the validation. This is our way to ensure that there will be no duplicate households and our database of 4Ps beneficiaries remain accurate,” she said.
To date, the DSWD-9 has 275,705 active household beneficiaries in the Zamboanga Peninsula.
The 4Ps beneficiaries will receive a PHP750 health grant per household, educational grants for a maximum of three children per household - PHP700 for senior high school, PHP500 for junior high school, and PHP300 for elementary - and a PHP600 rice subsidy.
The payout of grants is done every two months.
The recipients, however, have to comply with the requirements set by the DSWD.
The requirements include a regular check-up by the parents at the health center; complete immunization of children; and pregnant women must have complete prenatal check-ups.
Children of the beneficiaries must also comply with at least an 85-percent attendance in school and attendance to family development sessions by the DSWD. (PNA)
