Gov't expands poverty reduction program in WVisayas

Gov't expands poverty reduction program in WVisayas

By Vicente W. Villavert, Tuesday 3rd of April 2012

ILOILO CITY, April 3 (PIA ) - - The government’s poverty reduction program dubbed Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps has expanded to extremely poor households to allow members of the families in Western Visayas to meet certain human development goals.

Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman of the Department of Social Welfare and Development said during her visit to Iloilo City that the 4Ps program addresses the basic unit of the society, which is the family, by focusing on education and health.Soliman was here in Iloilo City recently to lead in the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement for the expansion of the 4Ps in the region.

A total of 261,591 beneficiaries are now covered under the 4Ps in Western Visayas, Soliman said, emphasizing that there were 2.3 million beneficiaries last year. As the program expands, “we have already as of March 9 some 3,029,827 households all over the country, which translates to about seven million aged 0 to 14 years old, are benefiting from this program.”

Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Sr. thanked Secretary Soliman for giving special attention to the province of Iloilo when it comes to projects intended to alleviate the lives of the poor.

During the ceremony 11 Iloilo LGUs entered MOA with the DSWD and these are the municipalities of Badiangan, Barotac Nuevo, Cabatuan, Dingle, Dumangas, Estancia, Mina, New Lucena, Pototan, Tigbauan, and Zarraga.

The event was also graced by the presence of the 25 civil society organizations, regional directors of national government agencies, branch managers of the Land Bank of the Philippines, and the League of Mayors of the Presidents of Aklan, Antique, Guimaras, Capiz, Negros, and Iloilo.

The activity was capped by the awarding of Plaque of Appreciation for the Province of Capiz, City of Iloilo for best practice along Pantawid Pamilya and for the Municipality of Ajuy, Iloilo in the implementation of KALAHI CIDSS.(JCM/VWV-PIA 6, Iloilo)

Cabatuan.com - Timeline 2012