Marcos: Over 600K families achieved 'self-sufficiency' under 4Ps

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said Tuesday that more than 600,000 families have attained self-sufficiency through the help of the government's Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

Marcos emphasized that through the conditional cash grants, the government was able to help families stay on track with their children’s education and healthcare.

''Just last year, more than 4 million households received support through the 4Ps. Behind these numbers lies a deeper, more profound success: Since its inception, nearly 678,000 families have achieved self-sufficiency,'' Marcos said in his speech during the 74th anniversary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The 4Ps serves as a national poverty reduction strategy and a human capital investment program that provides conditional cash transfers to poor households for a maximum period of seven years, to improve the health, nutrition, and education of children aged 0 to 18.

Digital Services

The DSWD launched its newest digital initiative, which aims to streamline the process of providing donations to those in need.

According to the agency, the “Kaagapay Donations Portal” will serve as an online platform for donors to send their cash donations either to the DSWD for disaster relief operations and/or for in-kind and cash donations to DSWD centers and residential care facilities (CRCFs).

Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said the portal would enhance both operational efficiency and overall donor experience.

"The Kaagapay Donations Portal integrates advance functionalities that ensure realtime donations facilitation. Through the portal, donors will have the option to choose if they want to donate through online payment gateways or via logistics partners to personally deliver their in-kind donations to our CRCFs," Dumlao said in a separate press release.

This portal will also link donations to DSWD-registered and licensed social welfare and development agencies (SWDAs), as well as to local government units that are engaged in humanitarian response during times of disasters and emergencies.

"The contact details of LGUs affected by disasters will be published in the website for more efficient donations coordination," Dumlao said.

Meanwhile, the DSWD also unveiled a virtual one-stop-shop for all its regulatory services. This is dubbed as the Harmonized Electronic License and Permit System that will allow the public to access the agency’s regulatory services anytime and anywhere.

Through this portal, the public can register their accounts and lodge their applications for the regulatory services in as fast as 20 minutes and they may be able to receive their certificates 14 days after their applications.

Further, the process of application and issuance of travel clearance for minors traveling abroad was also streamlined as applicants no longer need to physically submit the required documents. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News