The DSWD, through the Quezon Provincial Operations Office, continuously explores partnerships with the local government units (LGUs) and local councils of Quezon Province in addressing issues that are hampering the improvement of the level of well-being of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries in the province.

Last February 27, the DSWD lobbied for support services from 23 LGUs and 14 national government agencies during the 1st Quarter Meeting of the Joint Provincial / City / Municipal Committees Against Trafficking in Persons, Child Pornography, and Violence Against Women and Children (P/C/MCAT-CP-VAWC) in Tayabas City, Quezon.

According to Social Worker Rommy Rey of the 4Ps Provincial Operations Office, the collaboration with the P/C/MCAT-CP-VAWC is a step closer towards establishing an inter-agency approach in responding to issues such as child labor, teenage pregnancy, bullying, early cohabitation, and gender-based violence affecting 4Ps beneficiaries in the province.

In Quezon Province, the said issues are among the reasons that affect the children’s enrollment and attendance in school. In the province, there are 55 cases of teenage pregnancy, 110 cases of early cohabitation, 408 cases of child labor, 6 cases of bullying, and 55 cases of disability based on the validation conducted by the DSWD in 2023 of child-beneficiaries who are not attending school.

In the implementation of the 4Ps, the monitored children of household-beneficiaries are required to be enrolled in school and meet the 85 percent monthly attendance rate prior to being provided with cash grants on education. 

Beneficiaries who do not meet these conditions are provided with interventions to address the underlying reasons for their non-compliance and eventually bring them back to school.

Aside from the cases affecting the enrollment and attendance of children in school, there are 76 cases of gender-based violence that affect 4Ps households in the province.# [with reports from RPRey]