CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – At least 10,000 new potential household beneficiaries are targeted under the expanded Set 3 of the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps in Northern Mindanao, said Region 10 Social Welfare Information Officer Recthie B. Tolinero on Friday.

Tolinero said the targeted household beneficiaries in Region 10 are part of the one million beneficiaries being eyed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to reduce poverty nationwide.

There were 12 selected 4Ps areas through Small Area Estimates (SAE) which include: Sagay, Camiguin; the six municipalities of Bukidnon namely – Cabanglasan, Damulog, Kitaotao, Malitbog, and San Fernando; three areas that cover the cities of Iligan, Cagayan de Oro, and Tangub City; and the three municipalities of Misamis Oriental namely – Alubijid, Manticao, and Claveria.

As of last March 18, there were 756 registered beneficiaries in Cabanglasan, 487 in Damulog, 866 in Kitaotao, 378 in Malitbog, 777 in San Fernando, and 535 registered beneficiaries in Sagay, Camiguin.
Registration and validation for the remaining areas will be scheduled as soon as the regional office will receive the Proxy-Means Test (PMT) result from the DSWD’s central office, Tolinero said.

4Ps is one of the strategies of the government to alleviate poverty through providing cash grants to extremely poor households to improve the health, nutrition, and education particularly children aged zero to 14 years.

The household beneficiary will receive a maximum of P1,400 per month where P500 is granted to support the health and nutritional needs of the children, and P300 per child – maximum of three children per household – for educational expenses. They will receive the grant in five years, given that they comply with the program’s conditions.

The program’s conditions include the following: Pregnant mothers should get pre- and post-natal care, attended by skilled health professional during childbirth; Parents or guardians must attend responsible parenthood sessions, mother’s classes, and parent effectiveness seminars; Children zero to five years of age should get regular preventive health check-ups and vaccines; Children aged three to five-years-old must attend day-care/pre-school classes at least 85 percent of the time; Children six to 14-years-old must attend elementary or high school at least 85 percent of the time and they should receive de-worming pills twice a year.