4Ps Beneficiaries Thank PNoy During Cebu Visit

Two beneficiaries of the government’s conditional cash grant known as Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps had the chance to personally echo their gratitude to President Benigno Aquino III during the latter’s visit to the town of Argao, a town in the south 68 kms. away from Cebu City.

Ana May Rubia, 20, said her dream of finishing a college degree was only realized when her family became a recipient of the conditional cash transfer program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Rubia said she used to take up a Business Administration course in a local university in Cebu City but had to stop studying because her family was so poor and could not afford to continue sending her to college.

Because of the government’s 4Ps Scholarship Program under the Expanded Students’ Grants-in-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (ESGP-PA), Rubia was able to fulfill her lifelong dream of finishing college.

Rubia just graduated cum laude with Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education degree from the Cebu Normal University as a 4Ps recipient.

“With the free education, I can now realize my dream to help my family,” said Rubia, adding “I hope the 4Ps will continue to help other poor families like us.”

Rubia, who is the eldest among seven children, is now looking for a job.

ESGP-PA is an educational grant that gives priority to the 4Ps beneficiaries by providing them the opportunity to earn college education and increase their chance to gain employment and lift their family out of poverty.

Another 4Ps beneficiary who gave a testimony in Argao was 33-year old Ma. Judy Jane Antipuesto who has three children.

“I am very thankful to the present administration for helping send my children to school,” said Antipuesto in the dialect.

Antipuesto, who sells banana cue during school days but now earns a living this summer as a food server, said she comes from a poor family and only studied high school while her husband is a farmer.

“My life changed when we became a recipient of the 4Ps as the money given is spent on school needs of my children,” said Antipuesto in Cebuano.

She detailed that they used to frequently eat noodles with malunggay before but now can eat better as they have the money to spend for their children’s needs.

Antipuesto said she can rest easy that her children will not only finish high school but up to college because of 4Ps.

Pantawid Pamilya also made Antipuesto an active parent leader since 2012 while the mother of three ended her testimony by voicing her gratitude to President Aquino.

Meanwhile, Lauriana Olaguir, one of the local weavers who benefitted from the handloom weaving service shared facility of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-7) inside the Cebu Technological University Argao Campus, also shared her testimony.

Olaguir said the facility made the lives of town weavers easier through the use of handloom weaving machines.

Handloom weaving is a dying industry in Argao which DTI-7 is slowly reviving.

Pres. Aquino visited the town of Argao yesterday afternoon for a political sortie where he was met with a crowd of over 3,000 inside the Sec. Cerge Remonde Sports and Cultural Complex. (rmn/fcr/PIA7)