June 18, 2025 – The multi-disciplinary team of Rosario, Batangas continuously urges child-beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to go back to or remain in school. Last June 11, 2025, the team brought several interventions to at least 200 children who are not attending school and their parents through a symposium held at the Rosario East Central School.

The multi-disciplinary team in the said town is composed of department heads of the local government including the municipal social welfare and development office and health office, representatives from the Department of Education, Sangguniang Kabataan, Philippine National Police, and World Vision. Its main goal is to maximize the resources of all the stakeholders in the management of cases concerning child protection and gender-based violence among 4Ps beneficiaries. 

During the symposium, the participants were provided with targeted sessions based on their circumstances or situations as a result of the series of focus group discussions with the children and their parents conducted last May 2025. Included in the sessions were child labor and child work, early pregnancy and cohabitation, basic literacy, alternative education programs, and building student enthusiasm among others.

“Makakatulong [ang aktibidad] ito upang makabalik kayo sa pag-aaral at makapagtapos. Ang inyong pagdalo dito ay isa na ring patunay ng inyong kagustuhan na mapaunlad ang kinabukasan ng inyong mga anak sa pamamagitan ng edukasyon,” shared Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer Sonia Triviño in her message to the parents and children.

Meanwhile 4Ps Batangas Provincial Link Veronica Menguito emphasized to the participants the value of education, and assured them that the 4Ps Municipal Operations Office and the multi-disciplinary team will always be ready to assist them.

In the implementation of the 4Ps, the DSWD 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 Department, in collaboration with various stakeholders, also works towards ensuring that all children, regardless of their circumstances, have access to education. [with reports from LDBurbos / ADMagsino]