Amendments to 4Ps law will let beneficiaries stay more than 7 years — DSWD
During the Post-SONA discussion on Tuesday, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian shared that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s call to amend the 4Ps law would allow those in the program to stay longer than seven years.
Gatchalian noted this as a welcome development, as two million Filipinos were about to exit the program in 2026 for reaching the maximum number of years in the program.
'Itong programa na ito namumuhunan tayo sa taong bayan, namumuhunan tayo sa Pilipino. This is an investment in human capital. Kumbaga hindi pa tapos yung ating pamumuhunan, kailangan siguraduhin natin na hindi masayang 'yung investment natin,' he said.
(This program invests in the public and Filipinos. This is an investment on human capital. Our investments are not yet over, so we need to ensure that what we have poured in would not be wasted.)
Gatchalian noted that the length of a beneficiary's stay in the program should depend on their state and quality of life, and if they would be able to support themselves after graduating from the program.
'Tinignan ng Pangulo yung kapakanan nila at yung estado nila sa buhay rather than yung pipilitin natin na alis sila sa programa, masasayang ang pamumuhunan natin sa kanila at masasayang yung programa sa whole,' he shared.
(The President is considering their welfare and state of life rather than forcing them to leave the program, and it would be a waste of our investment on them and the program as a whole.)
'Kailan tignan natin yung estado ng pamilya: Kaya na ba talaga nilang tumayo sa kanilang sariling paa? Yung mga anak ba nila, nakatapos na?' he added.
(We need to look at the state of the family: Can they now stand on their own? Have their kids been able to finish their studies?)
The DSWD Secretary shared that 1.4 million Filipinos have already graduated from the 4Ps program since it began in 2022. — RF, GMA Integrated News
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