LEGAZPI City (July 2, 2011) - A week ago Albay Gov. Joey Salceda cited 4Ps as one of the important accomplishments of President Aquino in his first year in office. Now, Salceda can explain more fully why - because of 4Ps the incidence of self-described hunger among Filipinos has dropped 6 percent.
A Social Weather Station (SWS) survey released 2 days ago showed that in the second quarter of this year 3 million families experienced hunger, a significant 977,000 drop from the 2010 second half figure of over 3.9 million. This despite the considerable rises in prices of food and fuel in the past one year period.
Salceda attibutes the 6 percent drop in hunger incidence to the expansion of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program, also known as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps.
The program, managed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, grants P1,400 each month to poor families so they could avail themselves of health, nutrition and education services from government as long as their children attend school, have regular health check-ups and vaccinations.
Salceda, who also chairs the Regional Development Council in Bicol, noted that government records show that 1.3 million poor families were enrolled in the 4Ps program in June 2010. This year, 2 million were enrolled in May and 2.3 million in June.
“The funding for 4Ps has proven to be an inspired move while prompting positive and significant consequences in the lives of ordinary families, particularly food-poor rural families,” he said in a statement Saturday.
As the country’s hunger incidence eases, Salceda proposes that the current 4Ps’ coverage be expanded to cover the rest of the 4.77 million poor households across the country.
He also proposes increasing the budget for the CCT from P21 billion in 2011 to P34 billion in 2012.
Aside from 4Ps, Salceda includes as significant first year gains of the Aquino administration the $20 billion increase in Gross International Reserve (GIR), credit rating upgrade from Moody's and Fitch , speedy fiscal consolidation through prudent spending and creation 1.4 million new jobs.
Earlier, Salceda rated P-Noy's first year performance a passing 81%. (From philstar.com, Vox Bikol)
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