Considered as a milestone in the implementation of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) announced that a total of 333,673 student-beneficiaries nationwide have graduated from high school this commencement season.

Of this number, 153,470 graduates are from Luzon, 74,182 from the Visayas, and 106,021 from Mindanao. In NCR, there is a total of 21,844 graduates.

To celebrate this achievement, the DSWD will hold a post-graduation event for this first batch of graduating high school student-beneficiaries. The event is dubbed as, “Pagtatapos Nyo, Tagumpay ng Pilipino.”

This will be held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) on April 9 with around 4,000 high school graduates from the National Capital Region (NCR) joining the celebration. A second leg of the event will be held at the Araneta Coliseum on April 23 with around 14,000 students.

The event aims to recognize the graduating beneficiaries for their efforts to hurdle another stage in their academic life. During the event, exemplary graduates will be sharing their experiences to inspire their fellow beneficiaries to value education.

“The graduation is considered as a memorable achievement not only for the program, but also for the partner-beneficiaries who are now a step closer to a better life,” DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman said.

Moreover, the event will serve as a venue for the students to be linked to opportunities beyond high school, such as vocational courses and college scholarships.

“The Department’s partner-government agencies such as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), National Youth Commission (NYC) as well as representatives of the private and business sectors have been invited to explore the possibility of graduates to avail of scholarships, internships, or part time jobs that will help them realize their dream,” Sec. Soliman added.

Pantawid Pamilya is a human development program that invests in the health and education of poor households primarily those with children aged 0-18. It provides cash grants to partner-beneficiaries who comply with the conditions of sending their children to school, bringing them to health centers for checkups, and attending the monthly Family Development Sessions (FDS).

In 2013, the DSWD expanded the coverage of Pantawid Pamilya to include the 15-18 age bracket to ensure that the children-beneficiaries will graduate from high school and have a higher rate of employability.

Moreover, Pantawid Pamilya recognizes the need to extend support to its children-beneficiaries to further pursue the rights of children and enable the program to contribute in putting an end to the intergenerational cycle of poverty.

From the more than 7,000 households registered in 2007 when the program first started, it has scaled up, reaching more than 4.4 million households as of March 2015.