Almost 200 household-beneficiaries have graduated from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) after attaining the self-sufficient status, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Wednesday, June 16.

The DSWD held a virtual graduation ceremony dubbed “Pugay Tagumpay” for the 197 4Ps beneficiaries on June 10. The event was part of the weeklong celebration of the agency for the second year anniversary of the enactment of Republic Act No. 11310 or 4Ps Act.

“Higit sa anupamang datos o numero, ang pinakamahalaga sa departamento ay ang malaman na may mga magtatapos sa 4Ps dahil kaya na nilang tumayo sa sarili nilang mga paa (More than any data or numbers, the most important thing for the department is to know that those graduating from 4Ps can stand on their own feet),” DSWD Secretary Rolando Joselito D. Bautista said in his message to the graduating program beneficiaries.

The DSWD described the graduation of the 4Ps beneficiaries as a “modest feat” of its flagship program which continues uplifting the lives of Filipino families.

Citing the data from the 4Ps National Program Management Office, the DSWD said since 2020 up to June 8, 2021, a total of 24,043 households from the different regions have graduated from the program.

Households who are assessed as self-sufficient have the capacity to provide for their basic needs, stable income generated from either a permanent job or small business, ability to send their children to school, and are prepared to protect their households from sliding back to poverty, it said.

Lea Rebuta, who was among those who graduated from 4Ps, said she will continue motivating other 4Ps to become self-sufficient like her.

“Ang major plan ko ay ipagpatuloy ang advocacy para sa kabutihan ng benepisyaryo ng 4Ps, kahit wala na sa programang ito” (My major plan is to continue my advocacy for the betterment of other 4Ps beneficiaries, even I am not part of the program anymore),” Rebuta said during the round table discussion.

The 4Ps graduate-beneficiary from Caraga is now into a freelance cake business and now serves as one of the community leaders.

Rebuta said what she learned from the program’s Family Development Sessions (FDS) was the importance of saving money.

She is among those who advocated ’Alkansiya Program’ in the community wherein member-beneficiaries save money regularly until December.

She believed that self-sustaining individuals can contribute to community development.

“Kung kaya ko makatawid sa kahirapan, kaya rin nila (If I can, they can overcome poverty also),” Rebuta said.

The DSWD said the local government units (LGUs) will be tasked to monitor the graduate-beneficiaries “for possible provision of other appropriate assistance to enable them to sustain or further improve their economic status.”

During the ceremony, the LGUs committed to implement an after-care monitoring program to check the status of the Pantawid Pamilya families who have graduated from the program.

Other partner agencies were ready to assist graduating beneficiaries in their journey to become self-sustaining individuals through the provision of livelihood assistance, skills training, and scholarship for their children, the DSWD noted,

“The DSWD commits to assist more families achieve self-sufficiency through the 4Ps and its other programs and services to be able to contribute in building poverty-free communities.”