The government is set to expand its core social development strategy, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), the Aquino Administration’s Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program, by including in its coverage children aged 14-18 years of its 3.9 million family-beneficiaries to help them finish high school. About 2.2 million children are expected to benefit from the age expansion.
The 4Ps currently covers eight million children aged 0-14, including 6.3 million children in elementary and pre-school levels, and 1.7 million in high school. With the age expansion starting in school year 2014-2015, each child aged 14-18 would get an additional P500. This would help ensure an increase in high school graduation rate. The 4Ps gets a P62.6-billion budget in 2014 to fund the 4Ps expansion among high school students. The expanded CCT program is government’s strategic investment in the country’s human capital.
4Ps provides cash grants to households to improve their health, nutrition, and education, particularly of children aged 0-14 years. It grants beneficiaries cash grants of P500 a month for health and nutrition expenses and P300 a month per child for educational expenses. A household with three qualified children gets P1,400 monthly. In 2013, it has been implemented in 1,627 cities and municipalities in 79 provinces in 17 regions. There are 3,927,917 million registered households in the program.
The CCT age expansion complements the Department of Education’s K-to-12 basic education curriculum that adds two years of high school studies. The Department of Social Welfare and Development said that with the expansion of coverage, the children will have higher chances of finishing high school and be a wage earner.
The Manila Bulletin, led by its Chairman of the Board of Directors Dr. Emilio T. Yap, President and Publisher Atty. Hermogenes P. Pobre, Executive Vice President Dr. Emilio C. Yap III, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Cris J. Icban Jr., Business Editor Loreto D. Cabañes, Officers and Employees, congratulate the Department of Social Welfare and Development, headed by Secretary Corazon J. Soliman and other Officials and Personnel, for their efforts in giving more young people the opportunity to develop and be productive, by keeping them in school and helping prepare the future of Filipino generations in our Republic of the Philippines.
CONGRATULATIONS AND MABUHAY!