ZAMBOANGA PENINSULA—With the continues graduation of 4Ps members across the country, an additional 689 family beneficiaries from Pagadian City in Zamboanga Del Sur will soon exit from the program. A 4Ps graduation ceremony was conducted on Tuesday at the covered court of the said city.

These graduating beneficiaries have attained a sustained level of well-being at Level 3 (Self-Sufficiency level) for consecutive assessment periods which indicates that they are ready to stand on their own. The others no longer have qualified dependents which makes them ineligible to the program hence were recommended for exit or graduation.

As per Regional Program Coordinator of the 4Ps, Flordeliza A. Atuy, this graduation ceremony signifies the readiness of the beneficiaries after the interventions provided by the program.

“We have been empowering our beneficiaries for more than a decade. More than the cash grants, we ensure that the families are able to access social protection services from stakeholders and that there was behavioral change in terms of developing their families,” Atuy said.

The local government of the city of Pagadian headed by Hon. Sammy Co personally received the case folders of the beneficiaries as turned over by the DSWD. The LGU will continue monitoring the attainment of the household intervention plan of the families to sustain their well-being.

Present during the ceremony were various stakeholders from the government such as the DOLE, OWWA, PNP, Philhealth, TESDA, DILG, DepEd, NHA, ENRO, DSWD-SLP, Pagadian City International College who committed to support the beneficiaries through provision of social protection services.

Natividad Yator, 48, from Bulatok, Pagadian, is hopeful that the government will continue to assist them as they strive to maintain sustainability. Being a mother of 3, Natividad and her husband provide the needs of their family through their meager income as a habal-habal driver. Today, her eldest daughter is now a Licensed Marine Engineer and her 2 children are now in college and senior high school.

“Dako kaayo ko ug pasalamat sa 4Ps. Bisag graduate na ko, pwede ra gihapon ko mubalik-balik og mutabang (I feel so much gratitude for the 4Ps program. I vow to continue helping the program even after this graduation),” Natividad said during her testimonial speech.

As of to date, 15,736 family-beneficiaries have already exited from the 4Ps in Region 9 since 2020. According to the Republic Act 11310 or the 4Ps Act, only poor households identified by the Listahanan project of the DSWD are eligible to become members of the 4Ps. Other qualifications include poor households that have 0-18 years old and compliance to the program conditions: at least 85% attendance rate in school; preventive check-ups, deworming, and other health services, attendance to monthly Family Development Session (FDS).