MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur — The Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD), the implementing agency of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in the Bangsamoro region, organized on Nov. 28 a graduation ceremony for the program’s 552 exiting beneficiaries.
Dubbed as ‘Pugay Tagumpay’, the event was held to celebrate the milestones of the 4Ps beneficiaries from Lanao del Sur’s first district who have completed the program. Their graduation signifies the improvement of their well-being through various interventions provided by the program.
The graduates were also granted with P15,000 cash as their seed capital for their chosen businesses. This financial support is from the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) of the national government, aimed at ensuring the sustainability and improvement of livelihood they started during their time in the 4Ps.
“MSSD, through its SLP fieldworkers, will continue monitoring the mentioned 4Ps graduates to ensure the continuation and proper utilization of the livelihood seed capital provided to them”, said Muntazar Mukarram, BARMM 4Ps program coordinator.
MSSD’s Deputy Minister Nur-Ainee Tan-Lim led the certificate distribution to the former beneficiaries. Along with Mukarram, she oversees the program’s implementation in the BARMM.
Another Pugay Tagumpay ceremony is scheduled for December 06, 2023 for the 4Ps graduates of Lanao del Sur’s second district.
4Ps is a nationally funded program that provides conditional cash grants to the poorest of the poor households in the Philippines. It combines social assistance and social development of the household beneficiaries.
To break the cycle of poverty in the country, children’s education and nutrition are among the primary conditionalities to stay in program. All of them are also required to attend Family Development Session (FDS) conducted monthly in their community. Through FDS, they learn varieties of topics, such as smart parenting, women and children’s rights, family planning, disaster preparedness, and financial management.
The beneficiaries are required to graduate from the program once they achieve the improved level of well-being based on the assessment of the social workers or after being in the program for 7 years. (Norjana Malawi/BIO)
