The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Education (DepEd) continue strengthening their partnership in support for the child-beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in the CALABARZON Region. To date, there are more than 500,000 six to 18 years old children in elementary and high school who are supported by the said program in the region.

In a recent consultation workshop between DSWD IV-A and DepEd IV-A, which is participated by representatives from the DepEd regional, district and division offices, the two agencies strategized ways to ensure smooth partnership particularly in the monitoring and ensuring of children’s compliance to the program’s education condition and addressing supply side gaps on education.

According to DepEd IV-A Asst. Regional Director Beth G. Torno, the agency will assign a Pantawid focal person in the division level to act on issues on the program implementation at a higher level. She noted that it is better that issues are solved not just in the school level, which is the current practice.

Further, the DepEd will make use of regular feedback mechanisms such as attendance of school principals to meetings in the city / municipal level as well as consultation workshops with parent-grantees in the school level.

The DepEd, as the partner of the DSWD in the implementation of the Pantawid Pamilya program, takes charge primarily in the monitoring of the child-beneficiaries enrolled in school. As part of the program conditions, child-beneficiaries must have at least 85% class attendance per month to receive the cash grant provided for each child. Teachers submit accomplished compliance verification forms to the DSWD every two months, which serve as basis for the computation of cash grants a family-beneficiary receives for a specific pay period.

Further, the DepEd helps ensure that they can meet the demands of the bulk of enrollees including sufficient classrooms, chairs and textbooks.***