Expansion sought

THE FIVE-YEAR cash subsidy program for indigent families should be expanded to ensure children will graduate from high school, a government think tank said yesterday. `Deepen assistance rather than expand the coverage,` said Celia M. Reyes, Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) senior research fellow, in a forum at the House of Representatives. Under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), households receive up to P1,400 per month or P500 for health expenses and P300 for educational expenses for up to three children aged three to 14, for a period of five years. In exchange, children must attend at least 85% of their classes and have regular medical checkups, while mothers must have pre and postnatal care.