Once again, the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office 7 (DSWD) seeks new family ambassadors for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
The annual search for Huwarang Pantawid Pamilya aims to recognize 4Ps family beneficiaries who maintained strong family ties, demonstrated positive Filipino values, and created a positive impact on the community where they reside.
The criteria include a family that maintains strong ties and harmonious relationships and upholds Filipino values despite the challenges brought about by poverty (25%), a family that strives to improve living conditions amid difficult situations (20%), a family that is actively involved in community activities (20%), a family that positively talks about family relations worthy of emulation (20%), and a family that practices and promotes healthy living and takes care of the environment (15%).
The search is open to all active 4Ps family beneficiaries and must consist of a father, mother, child, or children, solo parents, and their child or children.
The nominees must be beneficiaries of the program for at least two years, have good standing in the community with no derogatory records, whose income does not come from gambling, prostitution, child labor, extortion, or other similar illegal resources, must be 100% compliant with all the conditions of the program, and must be level 3 per the latest Social Welfare and Development Indicator (SWDI) assessment of the DSWD.
Interested nominators may approach the 4Ps city and municipal links (C/MLs) assigned in their respective areas for the complete details of the search.
The provincial winners from Bohol and Cebu will compete in the regional level and another set of validation and judging will be conducted to determine the regional winner for Central Visayas.
Starting this year, the provincial winners from Negros Oriental and Siquijor will compete in the Negros Island Region (NIR).
All provincial and regional winners will get cash prizes and certificates of recognition.
The winner of the regional search will attend the National Pantawid Pamilya Family Day in the last week of September in Metro Manila, together with other regional winners from all over the country.
The past Huwarang Pantawid Pamilya regional winners from the Central Visayas region made it to the national level, namely: the Sederiosa family from Sagbayan, Bohol, placed fourth runner-up in 2013, the Ewican family from Carmen, Bohol, placed second runner-up in 2014, the Torrentira family from Sagbayan, Bohol, placed second runner-up in 2015, the Garay Family from Jagna, Bohol, won the title as the grand winner of Huwarang Pantawid Pamilya in 2016, the Catubig family from Maria, Siquijor, placed fourth runner-up in 2017, and the Campugan family from Cordova, Cebu, placed second runner-up in 2018.
In 2019, all regional winners were declared as national winners and no longer had a national level competition. At that time, the Elardo family from Badian, Cebu, represented the region.
The search had a three (3) years hiatus during the pandemic period and had a comeback in 2023.
The Dela Peña family from Basay, Negros Oriental, was declared the regional winner in 2023 while the Fortuito family from Sibulan, Negros Oriental was the regional winner in 2024.
The 4Ps is the government’s major poverty alleviation program that invests in the health, nutrition, and education of poor households eligible for the program. Together with the psychosocial and educational components provided through the Family Development Session (FDS), the beneficiaries will have improved and sustained well-being. Implemented through DSWD, the program was institutionalized in 2019 by Republic Act 11310, or the 4Ps Act. ###