MANILA — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will not require Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries, who are recovering from the Marawi crisis, to comply with the program’s conditions.
“Conditionalities for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program will be lifted to immediately accommodate the needs of the IDPs (internally displaced persons),” said Undersecretary Emmanuel Leyco.
The 4Ps beneficiaries have to meet certain conditions to stay in the program: Pregnant women must avail of pre- and post-natal care, and be attended to during childbirth by a trained professional; parents or guardians must attend the family development sessions, during which topics on responsible parenting, health, and nutrition are discussed; children aged 0-5 must receive regular preventive health check-ups and vaccines; children aged 6-14 must receive deworming pills twice a year; and children-beneficiaries aged 3-18 must enroll in school, and maintain an attendance of at least 85 percent of class days every month.
Leyco said the DSWD will study the possibility of including IDPs who are not members of the 4Ps in the program, as well as identify other programs of the department that would apply to families affected by the armed conflict in Marawi.
“The DSWD is ready to help those in need,” he said, adding that DSWD programs that aim to help the indigent and vulnerable sectors of society will be extended to Marawi’s IDPs.
Leyco cited the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) and Cash for Work (CFW) Program, which could help the IDPs rebuild their community while staying in their transitional shelters.
The SLP aims to increase economic opportunities by providing skills training, seed capital fund, pre-employment assistance fund, and cash for building livelihood assets, while the CFW is a short-term intervention that provides temporary employment to distressed or displaced individuals.
DSWD provides IDPs psychosocial support.
Marawi has been torn by five months of military operations to clear the city of terrorists linked to the Maute group.
Thousands of residents fled to various provinces where they were sheltered in evacuation centers or the homes of relatives and friends.
Since Marawi’s liberation was declared on Oct. 17, some 6,469 families have already returned to the nine barangays of the city, according to the DSWD.
The DSWD heads the early recovery phase of the rehabilitation effort that includes all basic social services.
As part of the early recovery operations, the department has provided each returning family one sack of rice and food packs good for three weeks.
DSWD-Soccsksargen Regional Director Bai Zorahayda Taha is the designated focal person for the DSWD’s efforts in Marawi, while Undersecretary Luzviminda Ilagan will serve as the focal person for Mindanao. (PNA)