To tread a brighter future and be able to give back to those who supported her – this was Jamilah Martinez’s next goal after she graduated from college in July 2023.

Almost a year later, Jamilah, now 23, is slowly making this vision a reality. She now earns enough not just to support her daily necessities, but also that of her mother and younger siblings.

Jamilah found this opportunity as a newly-hired employee of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Central Office in Quezon City.

Jamilah couldn’t be more blessed as a public servant, let alone a Project Development Officer at the Traditional Media Service (TMS), making up the workforce of the agency that helped realize her dreams.

“Maituturing ko siguro yung pagtatrabaho ko dito na way of giving back talaga para naman makatulong din ako sa ahensyang tumulong sa akin at sa pamilya ko,” Jamilah said during by her fellow writer-employee under the Strategic Communications (StratComm) group.

This interview, as she described it, gave her the chance to express her gratitude for being a former child-beneficiary of the DSWD’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

“Malaki talaga ang pasasalamat ko sa DSWD kasi bukod sa binigyan ako ng pagkakataong makapagtrabaho dito, malaking tulong sa akin kasi nakakapag-provide na ako sa family ko. Alam naman natin na ang DSWD maraming natutulungan, at isa po ako doon,” Jamilah said recognizing the agency’s 4Ps program’s positive impact on her life.

(I am really grateful to DSWD because apart from giving me the opportunity to work here, it is a big help because I can provide for my family. We know that the DSWD helps a lot of people, and I am one of them.)

The 4Ps, implemented by the DSWD, is a national poverty reduction strategy institutionalized under Republic Act No. 11310 or “An Act Institutionalizing Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)” signed on April 17, 2019. It puts a premium on giving indigent families the means to break-away from the intergenerational cycle of poverty through human capital investments.

Raised singlehandedly by mom

Raised in a solo-parent household in Pangasinan province, Jamilah shared that the 4Ps was a big help to their family.

While Jamilah remembered having a complete family as a child, she also saw it coming when her mother and father decided to part ways.

From then on, Jamilah and her four other siblings were left in the care of their mother, with only little financial support from their father.

“Wala pong permanent na trabaho yung Mama ko since siya lang naman po yung nag-aalaga sa amin. Pero kahit na ganun, naglalabandera at nag-eextra po siya sa iba pang mga trabaho para maitawid po yung pang araw-araw naming pagkain,” Jamilah said as she recalled how her mother coped with her separation from their father.

(My mom did not have a permanent job since she was the only one who took care of us. But even so, she did laundry and worked extra in other jobs to make ends meet.)

There is no question that her mother stood tall despite the challenge of raising them alone. However, their earnings would always fall short no matter how hard her mother worked.

But in 2014, the 4Ps became their ‘partner’ in life when they were listed as among the qualified household-beneficiaries in their province.

Through 4Ps, poor households receive conditional cash grants from the government to improve their children’s health, nutrition and education.

“Malaki po ang pinagbago ng buhay namin, dahil bukod po sa nakakabili po kami ng kailangan namin sa bahay, natutulungan din po kami nito sa aming gastusin sa pag aaral. Hindi man sobrang laki pero malaking ginhawa din po yun para sa mama at sa pamilya ko po dahil may katuwang na po siya sa gastusin po namin sa bahay at sa school,” Jamilah narrated.

(It has changed our lives a lot, because apart from being able to buy what we need at home, it also helped us with our education expenses. It was not too big an amount, but it was a relief for my mom and my family because she already had a partner in our expenses at home and at school.)

Apart from the cash grants, Jamilah recalled that the Family Development Sessions (FDS) educated her and her entire family on how they can manage their finances better and cope with the difficult set-up of their family.

“Sobrang laki din pong tulong ang FDS sa amin dahil bukod po sa pinagtitibay nito ang samahan ng pamilya namin, nakatutulong din po ito na malaman po namin ang responsibilidad namin sa aming pamilya at sa aming magulang,” said Jamilah as she went over the 4Ps component that instilled great values to her as a teenager.

In 2015, Jamilah welcomed the gradual changes in their life with a small leap. At 15 years old, she entered a part time job at a local eatery to help her mother meet their family’s needs.

According to Jamilah, this decision was bolstered by her strong will to ease her mother’s responsibilities, as well as her desire to show that the government assistance she was receiving was not put in vain.

Carrying these motivations into action, Jamilah jumped to another part-time job at an advertising agency while studying senior high school.

Jamilah then took a Bachelor’s degree in Financial Management at Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation, Inc. in San Carlos City.

Despite opting to study at a private university, Jamilah made sure her mother would not be troubled by the hefty expenses. She made it possible as she bagged a full scholarship for being an active member of the Drum and Bugle Corps (DBC) in their locality.

“Bilang member ng DBC, tumutugtog kami sa mga pyesta. Bumababa kami sa iba’t-ibang lugar para mag-perform, and ayon, talagang parati din akong aktibo sa bawat event dahil scholar nga ako,” Jamilah shared.

(As members of DBC, we play at festivals. We go down to different places to perform, and I was always active in every event because I was a scholar.)

Indeed, it was never easy to juggle her school and  house work responsibilities as well as her part-time jobs and other extracurricular commitments all at once.

Jamilah, however, found solace in the idea that one day, her sacrifices would be compensated with great outcomes.

And it did.

First diploma holder

Jamilah knew that her sacrifices paid off when she finished her degree and became the first diploma holder in their family. It resonated even more today as she landed a job she also regards as a fulfilling career.

Rising from a humble beginning, Jamilah can attest to the wonders government interventions, such as 4Ps, can bring to propel the underprivileged to dream and achieve it with determination and hard work.

Jamilah is one of the over 32,000 former 4Ps monitored children who have graduated from college since 2016.

To date, the program has 4.4 million household-beneficiaries nationwide. #