TWO former monitored children under the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) have passed the recently conducted Agricultural and Biosystems Engineers Licensure Examination and the Bar Examination.
The two former 4Ps-monitored kids are Joan Grace Ewican of Carmen town, Bohol province who is now a licensed engineer, and Kerth Jay Alunan of Dapitan City, Zamboanga Del Norte province who passed the recent Bar examination.
“We are proud to announce that two former monitored children of 4Ps are now a licensed engineer and a lawyer. We express our pride and recognition for the perseverance and hard work of these individuals,” DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao said in a news release on Wednesday.
Dumlao said the 4Ps continue to reap gains with more than 30,000 former monitored children having completed their tertiary education from 2016 to April 30, 2024 with a number of them graduating with honors and distinctions as well as topping various licensure examinations.
“The number is expected to go up as the 2024 academic year is coming to a close,” Dumlao said.
Ewican is an alumnus of Bohol Island State University – Bilar Campus in Carmen, Bohol. She has a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.
In a Facebook post of the DSWD Field Office 7 z31- Central Visayas, Ewican said the DSWD’s 4Ps played a big part in her success.
“I once dreamt of this moment, wondering if I would get here knowing our family’s financial situation. But God’s providence never failed. Our family became a beneficiary of the DSWD’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, which played a big part in my success,” Ewican said.
“I still clearly remember an innocent child drawing buildings during the talent portion of the Search for Exemplary Pantawid Pamilya Children 2014, expressing my eagerness to be an engineer. Though I was a bit redirected, I am truly grateful that God led me to where I am now,” she added.
Alunan, one of the 3,962 who passed 2024 Bar Examinations, took up a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy at the Jose Rizal Memorial State University in Zamboanga Del Norte.
“Dahil sa 4Ps, nakapag-aral ako ng kolehiyo. Nabayaran ko ang aking tuition at miscellaneous fees, nakabili ng mga kinakailangang libro, at nakapagbayad ng renta sa aming boarding house—mga bagay na hindi kayang tustusan ng aking mga magulang dahil sa kanilang kakarampot na kita,” the new lawyer said.
Launched in 2008 and institutionalized by Republic Act 11310 in 2019, the 4Ps is the national poverty reduction strategy and human capital investment program that provides conditional cash transfer to poor households for a maximum period of seven years to improve their children’s health, nutrition and education. (PR)
