The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said families enrolled in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) with children aged zero to five can skip two months of mandatory Family Development Sessions (FDS) if their young family members are registered with the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys).
DSWD Director and 4Ps National Program Manager Gemma Gabuya said the PhilSys registration will fulfill the FDS requirement for February and March.
The FDS is a series of educational sessions designed to provide 4Ps beneficiaries with knowledge and skills to improve their family’s well-being. Topics covered in the FDS sessions include health, nutrition, education, responsible parenting, and financial literacy.
Gabuya added that the registration would provide children under five with a PhilSys National ID that will give them enhanced access to government services.
“This initiative highlights the importance of securing identification for all 4Ps household members, particularly for zero to five-year-old children, as a proactive measure to improve their access to essential government programs in the future,” Gabuya said.
To meet FDS requirements, the head of the household must register for PhilSys, while registering all household members—including children under five—will fulfill the two-month FDS compliance.
“Households that availed the FDS equivalency must present either their transaction reference number (TRN) or PhilSys Card Number (PCN) and authenticate their registration during Period One (P1 2025) covering the months of February to March of the compliance monitoring timeline. This ensures they fulfill program requirements necessary for cash grants while reducing barriers to identification at an early age,” Gabuya explained.
“4Ps beneficiaries can register for PhilSys at designated registration centers, including barangay halls, malls, and FDS co-location venues, special sites organized by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), as well as new registration centers which will be open in schools and daycare centers to accelerate the registration of the 4Ps children,” she said.