MOA signed for bigger 4Ps in Leyte

By Provincial Media Relations Center
February 15, 2011

TACLOBAN CITY  –  Seeing the positive effects of the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in the province of Leyte, Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla gladly signed a Memorandum of Agreement for the 4Ps expansion which has already served a number indigent families in the province.

The signing was done in Malacañang together with Leyte mayors, other governors and DSWD officials.

4Ps is a poverty reduction and social development program that provides conditional cash grants to extremely poor households to improve their health, nutrition and education, particularly of children aged zero to 14.

Cash grants, amounting to P1,400 monthly, are released every three months through a Landbank cash card or over-the-counter payment.

In the province of Leyte, 4Ps has been expanded from 10 municipalities to 22 municipalities after the MOA was signed Thursday.

Gov. Petilla said that boosting the number of 4Ps beneficiaries is part of the agency's efforts in reducing the vulnerabilities of the poor and the disadvantaged sectors.

Aside from noting that the conditional cash transfer would greatly help indigent families, Gov. Petilla however encouraged family-beneficiaries to make use of the amount conscientiously after observations made that other family-beneficiaries use the amount for a different purpose.

“We advise them to really utilize the fund for what it is intended for as they run the risk of being disqualified to continue in the program,” Gov. Petilla said.

The DSWD-8 has earlier lauded the support of the provincial government through Gov. Petilla, for his continuous support or poverty alleviation programs and initiatives of the social welfare and development office.

Just this February, about P5.460 million was released to 449 household beneficiaries of 4Ps in San Miguel, Leyte.

4Ps has dual objectives. The first is Social Assistance to provide cash assistance to the poor to alleviate their immediate need or short term poverty alleviation; and Social Development to break the intergenerational poverty cycle through investments in human capital.