ILOILO CITY (PIA) - - The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)  Regional Office 6 has started the re-assessment of the well-being of more than 29,000 households in Western Visayas for inclusion in the second batch of graduates from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

DSWD 6 Pantawid Pamilya Division Chief Belen Gebusion said the social welfare indicator tool used in monitoring the progress of the program beneficiaries conducted in 2019 showed that there are 29,055 households in the region that have reached level 3 or self-sufficiency after the 7^th year implementation of the 4Ps.

Gebusion said the result of the monitoring came out in 2020 and because of the pandemic they are subjecting these household beneficiaries to re-assessment.

“Once they are found that they have reached level 3 they will be subjected to the exit strategy being adopted through Kilos – Unlad,” she said in an interview over Kapihan Regionwide radio program of the Philippine Information Agency 6.

These exiting households, majority, from Negros Occidental province, were already turned over to their respective local government units for monitoring and after-care support intervention.

As of June this year, Gebusion said there are 328,788 active household beneficiaries in the region who are enjoying the increased benefits of the program under Republic Act 11310, also known as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Act which was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on April 17, 2019.

Now, each child enrolled in daycare and elementary receives P300 cash grant, in junior high school receives P500, and in senior high school gets P700 monthly.

From P700, a Pantawid member now gets P750 for their health and nutrition monthly cash grant. (JBG/laf/PIA6-Iloilo)