DUMAGUETE CITY, April 27 (PNA) — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office VII will hold a Pantawid Pamilya Regional High School Graduation on April 28, Tuesday, at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.
The Philippine government’s Conditional Cash Transfer, dubbed as Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, has already produced 26, 454 high school graduates this year from Central Visayas alone while more than 300,000 children-beneficiaries graduated nationwide, said Leah Tagalo Quintana, Information Officer of the DSWD-7 Office.
Of the 26, 454 graduates, 12,359 are from Cebu Province; 6,875 from Negros Oriental; 6,739 from Bohol; and from Siquijor, 481.
This event, dubbed as “Pagtatapos Nyo, Tagumpay ng Pilipino,” aims to recognize the graduating beneficiaries for their efforts to hurdle another stage in their academic life.
About 250 participants are expected to gather for the event that will compose of the student-beneficiaries, parent/guardian and invited partners like Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education Skills and Development Authority, Department of Education, Department of Health, Department of Labor and Employment, and other private institutions.
Phoebe Kaye Fernandez, a local celebrity in Cebu, will host the whole day event.
“We are doing this event to provide a venue for these graduates to be linked to opportunities like scholarships, internships, or part time jobs that will help them realize their dream,” Mercedita P. Jabagat, DSWD7 regional director, was quoted as saying in a media release Monday.
Jabagat also said that the graduation was considered as a memorable achievement for the program and the partner-beneficiaries who were now a step closer to a better life.
Earlier, DSWD hosted the first graduation event in the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) on April 9 with around 4,000 high school graduates from the National Capital Region (NCR) joining the celebration. The second leg of the event was held at the Araneta Coliseum on April 23 with around 14,000 students nationwide.
DSWD7 will be sending John Alvin Serenio of Jagna, Bohol; Marielyn Aquino of Boljoon, Cebu; Joel Gabas Jr. of Bais City, Negros Oriental and Mary Louisse Baroro of Lazi, Siquijor as exemplary high school graduates for the national event.
Pantawid Pamilya is a human development program that invests in the health and education of poor households primarily those with children aged 0-18. It provides cash grants to partner-beneficiaries who comply with the conditions of sending their children to school, bringing them to health centers for checkups, and attending the monthly Family Development Sessions (FDS).
In 2013, the DSWD expanded the coverage of Pantawid Pamilya to include the 15-18 age bracket to ensure that the children-beneficiaries graduated from high school and had a higher rate of employability.
Moreover, Pantawid Pamilya recognizes the need to extend support to its children-beneficiaries to further pursue the rights of children and enable the program to contribute in putting an end to the inter-generational cycle of poverty.
From the more than 7,000 households registered in 2007 when the program first started, it has scaled up, reaching more than 4.4 million households as of March 2015. (PNA)