DSWD ready to expand 4Ps, waits for budget approval

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is ready to expand the educational grant of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to include the children aged 14 to 18 of family-beneficiaries next year. However, Rodora Babaran, 4Ps national program manager, said the DSWD has to wait for Congress’ approval of the additional P10-billion DSWD budget before it could start its validation work on the expansion. "We don’t want to give false hope to the families,” Babaran told The STAR as she explained that they would have to validate the 3.9 million family-beneficiaries to determine how many children aged 15 to 18 years old they have. "We will still have to validate if they are going to school or are going to enroll next school year,” she said. The DSWD official presented the CCT expansion proposal during the Development Communication Coordinating Network forum and press briefing at the La Breza Hotel in Quezon City yesterday. About 2.2 million children are expected to benefit from the expansion from among the 3.9 million family-beneficiaries of the government’s poverty alleviation program.