Forty (40) child-beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) from Patnanungan, Quezon are now set to go back to school. This is after a series of interventions provided by the DSWD Field Office IV-A, in partnership with various stakeholders in the locality, in managing children not attending school (NAS).

In the implementation of the 4Ps, the Department promotes the importance of educating the children towards breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty. As such, aside from monitoring the compliance of child-beneficiaries to the school attendance requirement of the program, the DSWD also works towards ensuring that all children have access to education.

Last May 29, 2025, 46 identified NAS children and their parents attended a symposium organized by the 4Ps Municipal Operations Office and the local government of Patnanungan. In the said symposium, various topics were introduced to them including child labor and child work, teenage pregnancy and family planning, basic literacy, and alternative learning system among others.

Prior to the said symposium, the children and the parents underwent a series of focus group discussion sessions with the DSWD to identify their situations and reasons for being out of school.

The results of these sessions were used by the DSWD in planning out interventions to help them get back to school.

“Gusto pa pala nila talagang pumasok sa school kaso may dahilan sila na hindi namin alam. Pero ngayon, dahil sa ginawa kanina [sa symposium], mas naintindihan namin. Maraming salamat po at nakumbinse ang dalawa kong anak na bumalik sa pagpasok,” shared Menchie Teoxon, one of the parents of the NAS children.

During the symposium, 40 children have expressed their interest to go back to school and personally enrolled themselves to the partner-schools present during the activity.

As additional support, the local government provided school supplies while the Sangguniang Kabataan and DOLE-PESO Office committed to provide further assistance to the children and their families.

In Jomalig, Quezon, a similar intervention is being conducted to 32 NAS children and their parents. In a focus group discussion conducted last May 27-28, at least 15 of them had expressed willingness to go back to school. [with reports from JBMManalo]