• RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Negros Oriental reported that nearly 5,000 student-beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4P’s) are not attending school.
Officer-in-Charge Provincial Link James Angelo Montesclaros said that the statistics were determined based on their June and July 2025 survey, citing reasons such as teenage pregnancy, early marriage, child labor, lack of interest in school, and the absence of secondary schools in some communities.
“The municipal and city links have conducted validation to get the real reasons and then conduct case management by visiting every household, after which we coordinate or tie up with the Department of Education to look for solutions on how to encourage the students or these children to go back to school,” he said.
Their records stated that out of the 81,073 learners aged 6 to 18 monitored in the province who were under 4Ps, 10 percent or more than 8 thousand were not enrolled in the education system.
The cities of Guihulngan and Bayawan, and Mabinay town were reported to have the highest number of out of school children.
In response, DSWD Negros Oriental is closely monitoring the school attendance of children under 4P’s to ensure compliance with the program’s educational requirements and is set to conduct home visits every two months for children with repeated absences.
Under Republic Act 11310, or the 4Ps Act, non-compliant beneficiaries undergo case management before penalties are imposed.
However, based on the rules of the 4Ps, beneficiaries are not immediately delisted but are given an evaluation period to demonstrate their willingness to comply with program conditions.
Under the 4Ps, households receive monthly subsidies of P300 for elementary pupils, P500 for high school students, and P700 for senior high school students.*
