Extend ‘Pantawid Pamilya Program’ to farmers, fishermen too, gov't urged

The government should expand the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to include farmers and fisher folk, which are considered as among the most marginalized and vulnerable to unfavorable climactic conditions.

This was according to Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos, who proposed the creation of "Pantawid Kita," a new component of the Pantawid Pamilya to provide monthly basic income to farmers and fisher folk which are at least equivalent to those given to regular 4Ps beneficiaries.

"Many of our farmers and fisher folk are not included in the barangay lists of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) recipients even if they are the poorest of the poor because they reside in far flung communities hardly reached by welfare programs and are rarely visited by government social workers," Marcos said in a statement.

"Farmers and fisherfolk are the most vulnerable to adverse climactic conditions. Walang ani, walang nahuhuling isda, walang kinikita pag tag-ulan o bumabagyo. So they do not earn enough to feed their families and improve their living conditions," she added.

The senator urged that "billions of pesos" be set aside in the national budget for farmers and fishermen, who are also "national treasures."

"We need to give our farmers and fishermen this basic income to end the tragedy that those who produce food and save many from hunger, are themselves unable to buy food or keep their families from being hungry," Marcos said.

The 4Ps is an initiative of the national government providing conditional cash grants to those belonging to the poorest of the poor, to improve the health, nutrition, and the education of children aged 0-18.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is leading the implementation of the 4Ps.

The government's Pantawid program has earlier been already extended to PUV drivers through the Pantawid Pasada Program, which was launched in August 2018 to cushion the impact of the excise tax on fuel to the income of jeepney operators and drivers.

The fuel subsidy for 2018 amounts to P5,000 but economic managers said that heftier assistance pegged at P20,000 will be given next year as the second round of petroleum excise tax increase is likely to be imposed.

In August, the House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on third and final reading a measure seeking to institutionalize the 4Ps. — MDM, GMA News