The Committee on Poverty Alleviation in the House of Representatives has approved the substitute bill on measures seeking to expand the government's Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

(PPAB)

Approved by the 1-PACMAN Party-list Rep. Mikee Romero-chaired panel during a recent public hearing was the substitute bill to House Bill (HB) Nos. 2422 and 4366. The measures were authored by AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee and Parañaque City 2nd Gus Tambunting, respectively.

Lee, in a statement Thursday, Feb. 9, highlighted the approval of his bill titled, "An Act promoting entrepreneurship and livelihood for sustainable development, amending for the purpose Republic Act (RA) No.11310, otherwise known as An Act Institutionalizing the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program".

According to Lee, it's high time for RA No.11310 to be amended so as to “address poverty by opening opportunities for 4Ps adult beneficiaries to capacitate them to provide for their families after the seven-year maximum period that the program is allowed to support them".

“Adults must not be forgotten or neglected just for the mere reason that they are already working. We can still help them and give them opportunities to make their lives better,” he added.

The proposed interventions to assist 4Ps adult beneficiaries shall have three (3) tracks, namely: (1) the Entrepreneurship Track; (2) the Employment Track; and the (3) Alternative Learning System (ALS) Track. At least one adult beneficiary must join and complete any of the said tracks.

Adult beneficiaries who successfully complete the Entrepreneurship Track shall be given assistance by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to ensure the ease of establishing a micro or small business and link him/her to a target clientele.

Those who finish the Employment Track shall be given job facilitation assistance by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), while those who complete non-formal education using the ALS Track by the Department of Education (DepEd) until they finish Senior High School shall be given assistance to ensure their pursuit of higher learning or employment.

Under the existing law, 4Ps provides conditional cash grants to qualified indigent families to improve their health, nutrition, and the education of their children aged 0-18.

As of Sept. 30, 2022, 4Ps covers a total of 4,285,531 household beneficiaries across 41,676 barangays in the country, a big number of which are agricultural workers.

#Mikee Romero

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