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Every few years the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program becomes the subject of heated debate. Critics call it a dole out. Supporters defend it as the country’s flagship anti-poverty initiative. But the truth is that both views miss the bigger picture: 4Ps is not simply about poverty relief. It is about investing in the kind of workforce that can power the country’s economy for decades to come.

The genius of 4Ps lies in its conditions. Families receive assistance, but only if their children attend school and visit health centers. These requirements may sound basic, yet they are transformative. In a country where poor children often drop out early and health care is scarce, the program keeps families connected to services that build human capital. Every day a child stays in school because of 4Ps is a small victory for the nation’s future. Every clinic visit supported by the program is a step toward a healthier workforce.

Think about the alternatives. The government has rolled out other social protection schemes. TUPAD offers short term jobs to displaced or underemployed workers. DOLE-AKAP for OFWs hands out financial assistance to overseas Filipinos affected by crises. These interventions may provide temporary relief but they do not create inclusive growth. They are designed to patch holes, not to change lives. A few weeks of emergency work under TUPAD does not prepare anyone for stable employment. A one-time grant under AKAP-OFWs may ease the pain of job loss but it does nothing to ensure long term resilience. These programs need to be modified and tied more closely to 4Ps. Otherwise they remain palliative measures that neither reduce vulnerability nor build capacity.

The real strength of 4Ps is that it builds habits and expectations. Parents are nudged to keep children in school. Families are encouraged to value preventive health care. These are not small shifts. They reshape attitudes across generations. The payoff is a labor force that is more skilled, more resilient, and more competitive. This is not welfare. It is economic strategy.

Of course, the program is far from perfect. Graduation is often defined by whether a household reaches a certain level of self-sufficiency. But the more meaningful test should be whether children from these households actually transition into stable and decent work. If a teenager completes high school because of 4Ps yet ends up in precarious employment, the cycle of poverty has not been broken. What is needed is better coordination with programs that offer skills training, scholarships, and livelihood support. These should be the natural next steps for families completing 4Ps. Without this bridge, much of the investment is wasted.

This is why linking 4Ps to programs like TUPAD and AKAP matters. Imagine if instead of providing temporary cash or stop gap jobs, these initiatives were redesigned to help 4Ps graduates gain entry into sustainable employment. TUPAD could evolve into community based apprenticeships that feed directly into local industries. AKAP could be restructured to reintegrate returning migrants into a stronger domestic labor market. Both could act as transition mechanisms that ensure the gains from 4Ps are not lost.

The common criticism that 4Ps breeds dependency is tired and misleading. The conditions embedded in the program already push families toward self-improvement. No parent would voluntarily send a child to school every day or line up at a health clinic unless they believed it mattered. The dependency narrative ignores the fact that poor families, given the chance, are eager to invest in their children’s future. What 4Ps does is reduce the risks that poverty will cut those investments short.

The bigger challenge is political will. It is easy to fund short term programs that hand out visible benefits. It is harder to stay committed to long term investments whose results take years to show. Yet if the Philippines is serious about inclusive growth, then it must see 4Ps as more than a poverty project. It must see it as the foundation of a human capital strategy. Roads, airports, and technology hubs will mean little without educated and healthy workers to run them.

In the end, the question is not whether the country can afford 4Ps. The real question is whether it can afford not to. Every peso spent on a child’s schooling or on preventive health is a peso that secures the productivity of the next generation. Other programs should be redesigned to reinforce this goal rather than distract from it.

4Ps is not charity. It is not political tokenism. It is nation building. It is the closest thing the Philippines has to a real long-term strategy for inclusive growth. The challenge now is to sharpen its impact, tie it to programs that can deliver employment and livelihood, and stop pretending that quick fixes like TUPAD and AKAP can do the heavy lifting on their own. The country has a chance to turn social protection into economic strength. It should not waste it.

I now know why this idea that Filipinos are resilient persist. They do not come from us. We are by far wiser than that. We know the falsity of that virtue-of the human spirit enduring all the insults that human institutions and organizations are brought to bear upon them. We have seen through the illusion of that virtue, the fakery of the grit, the stilted speeches delivered for inspiration and sublimation.

Behold our mentors-our leaders and politicians who see to it that we continue to strive to persist, to suffer, to be resilient. Of course, they know they cannot be resilient; that is why they need to impose such an imaginary upon us.

As the month of September was drawing to a close and the breath of October ushering in a different climate, typhoons came.

As was the case of storms, the Oratio Imperata was taken out of the dustbin of old beliefs. Who knows this might work. Who knows the God almighty might listen to us after all.

We have become experts when it comes to storm tracking. In Bicol, for example, there is a local expert Bicolanos listen to. While the state meteorological agency continues its work, a native expert has been developed. The story was one time, the region was so ill-prepared for the onslaught of a particularly devastating weather disturbance because no proper warning was issued. From then on, a dedicated team of experts was developed with the aim in mind of focusing on the region.

For some reason, this approach has worked. True, there was time in October last year, when the region -the city of Naga included-was severely flooded. The people had to recognize one thing, the unpredictability of the amount of rain falling. Climate change has become real. And while there were structures that impeded the draining of flood water, there was at least one factor that was new-the awareness that there were factors that gave rise to these calamities. Knowledge was claimed by the people and this was good enough.

And yet, something obnoxious and anomalous has remained through all these days. The typhoon that hit certain parts of the country during the last part of September is a sign that in this country there are two realities. One dwells on the social facts of poverty; the other on power. Of all the provinces in the Bicol region, Masbate was the one heavily affected by the typhoon. Being an island-province and separated from the mainland, Masbate suffered a double whammy. Its isolation meant succor had to go through a geographical gridlock. There was no one to help the province except itself.

For days, there was no signal from the island of Ticao, for example. There were photographs of entire villages with houses decimated. We have gotten used to viewing people standing in front of their ruined homes after devastation but it takes guts to see old people weeping over a vanished homestead.

We are familiar with images of poverty-of children with tattered clothes and homes with no walls-but we are never ready to confront helplessness and hopelessness. Somehow, we allow ourselves the modicum of faith, that the human soul has the capacity to live on and fight and be alive for another day but faced with nothingness and we will never know what to do.

Witness an old woman standing where her home used to be and listen as she speaks-‘wara na gayud.’ There is nothing left.

‘Bangon Masbate,’ a tarp is flying in the wind.

Somewhere, a person has posted the Masbate Dynasty-the local leaders from the governor to the representatives all share the same family name.

Then the earthquake struck Cebu and tremor was felt all over the Panay island and the neighboring areas.

Panic and hysteria ensued. There was no more resilience. No hidden strength. This archipelago of suffering people has gone through enough suffering. In basketball courts, people were trying to stay calm until the lights went out. In hospitals, patients had to be wheeled out of the rooms. When the tremor was over, there was not enough space in clinics and hospitals for those injured.

The only chill place in this country is in Manila, in the hallowed halls of Congress and the Senate. There the congressmen and the senators are debating in aid of legislation. They are the gods of the upper air, reeking of expensive colognes and protected by parliamentary procedures only they could understand and most of the time mystify. At the end of the day, they will go home to the comfort of their homes, cocooned from the total social facts that they can articulate but will never actualize. Somewhere, we hope there is another god-one that punishes politicos and spares the massesˆa god who does not require an obligatory prayer but one who listens, and listens well.

THE National Food Authority (NFA) said its purchases of paddy rice soared in June on the back of a favorable harvest and its competitive buying price range.

The grains agency said it procured 807,691 50-kilo bags or 40,384 metric tons (MT) of palay in the reference month, more than double the 355,910 bags or 17,795.5 MT it bought last year.

With this, the NFA noted that it met its procurement target of 381,500 bags or 19,075 MT in June.

‘Increase in procurement compared to last month is mainly due to favorable harvest this cropping season, and the continuous implementation of the Council-approved Price Range Scheme [Pricers] for palay procurement activity,’ the NFA said.

Under the grains agency’s program, it buys clean and dry palay at P23 to P30 per kilo, while the price of fresh and wet palay ranges from P17 to P23 per kilo. Such a scheme changes weekly per province.

The NFA said it had a total expected milled rice inventory of 8.9 million bags or 445,459 MT at the end of June. It added that the grains agency’s stockpile accounts for 18.9 percent of the country’s national rice inventory.

Meanwhile, the agency said it distributed 60,252 bags or 3,012 MT of milled rice during the reference month, 13.6 percent of its target of 440,445 bags or 22,022.25 MT.

It allocated some 544 MT of rice to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Office of Civil Defense (OCD), legislators, and local governments for relief operations and calamity response.

About 1,314 MT of rice were distributed to government agencies and local government units’ (LGUs) rice requirement under the Executive Order 51 program, the NFA said.

Furthermore, around 1,126 MT have been distributed to LGUs under the food security emergency program, which was declared to expedite the release of rice stocks held by the NFA.

It added that some 27 MT of rice have been allotted for the auction or private institutions.

The NFA recently invited the public to participate in the tender for more than 1 million 50-kilo bags or 57,997 MT of aging rice stocks. (See: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2025/09/29/nfa-invites-bids-for-1-16-m-bags-of-aging-rice-stocks-worth-%e2%82%b11-6b/)

The agency has started issuing auction documents. The Central Office Auction Committee (COAC) will issue these documents until October 8, while documents from the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Secretariat will be available until October 7.

Interested bidders are required to tender a 10-percent bond of the total price offer, which will be deducted from the overall payment of the winning bidder.

This year, the NFA aims to procure as much as 880,000 MT of palay to meet its new buffer stock requirement of 15 days as stipulated under the amended Rice Tariffication Law (RTL).

THE Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) will sell real estate properties as well as transportation and power equipment through an electronic public bidding (e-bidding) toward the end of the month.

According to the PDIC, about 67 real properties, two vehicles, and a generator set would be bid out on October 29 and October 30 through the insurer’s e-bidding portal.

Proceeds from the sale of closed bank-owned properties go directly to a fund the PDIC manages for these closed banks to settle creditors’ claims, according to the government financial institution.

The properties include 34 vacant agricultural lots; 15 vacant residential lots; eight residential lots with improvements; three agricultural lots with improvements; and two commercial lots with improvements.

The two mixed residential/agricultural lots with improvements; one mixed commercial/residential lot with improvements; one mixed vacant residential/agricultural lot; and one agricultural lot. The largest property for sale is 8.2 hectares.

The real properties are located in Aklan, Apayao, Batangas, Bohol, Camarines Sur, Capiz, Cavite, Cebu, Ilocos Norte, Isabela, La Union, Laguna, Leyte, Mindoro Occidental, and Misamis Oriental.

The other properties are also located in Negros Oriental, Pangasinan, Sultan Kudarat, Tarlac, and Zamboanga del Norte. The vehicles and generator are in Barcenaga, Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.

The state weather bureau has placed 50 cities and municipalities in 6 Luzon provinces under the threat of Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TWSC) No. 2 as ‘Paolo’ intensifies while hovering over the Philippine Sea.

Placed under TCWS No. 2 are the central and southern portions of Isabela (San Mariano, Dinapigue, San Guillermo, Echague, Jones, San Agustin, Benito Soliven, Angadanan, Naguilian, Palanan, Ilagan City, Quirino, Mallig, Quezon, Delfin Albano, Tumauini, Cordon, City of Santiago, San Isidro, Ramon, Alicia, San Mateo, Cabatuan, City of Cauayan, Reina Mercedes, Luna, Gamu, Burgos, San Manuel, Aurora, Roxas), the northern portion of Quirino (Maddela, Aglipay, Cabarroguis, Saguday, Diffun), the northern portion of Nueva Vizcaya (Diadi, Bagabag, Quezon, Solano, Villaverde, Ambaguio, Bayombong, Kasibu), the eastern portion of Mountain Province (Paracelis, Natonin, Barlig), Ifugao, and the northern portion of Aurora (Dilasag, Casiguran, Dinalungan).

Meanwhile, TCWS No. 1 is hoisted over Cagayan, the rest of Isabela, the rest of Quirino, the rest of Nueva Vizcaya, Apayao, Abra, Kalinga, the rest of Mountain Province, Benguet, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, the northern portion of Zambales (Palauig, Masinloc, Candelaria, Santa Cruz), Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, the rest of Aurora, the northern portion of Bulacan (Doña Remedios Trinidad, San Miguel, San Ildefonso, Norzagaray, San Rafael), the northern portion of Pampanga (Magalang, Arayat, Candaba, Mabalacat City), the northern portion of Quezon (General Nakar, Infanta) including Polillo Islands, Camarines Norte, the northern portion of Camarines Sur (Siruma, Tinambac, Lagonoy, Garchitorena, Caramoan, Goa, San Jose, Presentacion), and Catanduanes.

In its Tropical Cyclone Bulletin issued at 2 p.m., the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Paolo maintains its strength while moving westward over the Philippine Sea.

PAGASA said aside from hazards affecting land areas due to the strong winds brought by Paolo, heavy rain is expected to affect Aurora today, October 2, and the provinces of La Union and Benguet on Friday. Heavy rains mean that rainfall will be dumping at least 200 mm of rain, causing widespread incidents of severe flooding and landslides.

In the next two days, 100 to 200 mm of rain is forecasted over Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, and Nueva Ecija, Aurora, Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Abra, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Pangasinan, Ilocos Sur, and Zambales.

This means that numerous flooding events are likely, especially in areas that are urbanized, low-lying, or near rivers. Landslide is likely in moderate to highly susceptible areas, PAGASA said.

Meanwhile, 50 to 100 mm of rain is forecasted to occur in Apayao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Benguet, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Quezon, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Albay, and Sorsogon Cagayan, Apayao, Ilocos Norte, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Bataan, Pampanga, and Bulacan

These areas are likely to experience localized flooding, mainly in areas that are urbanized, low-lying, or near rivers. Landslides is also possible in highly susceptible areas.

PAGASA said the highest Wind Signal that will likely be hoisted throughout Paolo’s passage is Wind Signal No. 3, or worse, Wind Signal No. 4, which is not being completely ruled out.

The state weather bureau said heavy rainfall, severe winds, and storm surge may still be experienced in localities outside the landfall.

Paolo will continue to intensify over the Philippine Sea and may reach severe tropical storm category tonight.

Currently, the eye of the storm was spotted 530 km. East of Infanta, Quezon, and is moving westward at 20 km/h.

It is currently packing maximum sustained winds of 75 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 90 km/h.

The storm is expected to leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by 11 a.m. of October 4..

AFTER surveying first hand the devastation caused by the magnitude 6.9-earthquake in Cebu on Thursday, President Marcos announced an initial P580 million worth of financial assistance for the island province.

The Chief Executive visited Bogo City, Cebu, which was close to the epicenter of the earthquake, which killed 72 people and left many parts of the city in ruins, when it struck on Monday night.

‘The biggest damage that the earthquake caused was damage to infrastructure, buildings, and then things like the hospital. Look at this city hall. That’s exactly the effect,’ he said in Filipino in his speech outside the Bogo City Hall.

With the assessment on structural integrity of the many buildings in the city still ongoing, many residents of the city will be forced to temporarily live in tent cities.

‘We’re just hurrying [establishing the tent city]. so they can find shelter here. Because many, rightly so, are afraid to go back to the building. They’d rather be outside,’ Marcos added.

He assured that the tent city will have sufficient food, water, and electricity supply as well as sanitation facilities.

As of Thursday morning, the Department of Energy (DOE) was working to restore power in Bogo City.

Those whose houses were destroyed by the earthquake will get P10,000 cash assistance, Marcos said.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported the earthquake in Cebu has affected 170,959 people and left 501 houses partially damaged and 96, which were totally damaged.

Financial support

TO help the provincial government of Cebu, which has declared a state of calamity, to manage the pressing concerns in its quake-affected areas, the President said the national government will provide it with financial support.

He said the Office of the President (OP) will release P180 million for its quake assistance, of which, P50 million will go to the Cebu provincial government and P20 million to Bogo City.

The remaining amount will be distributed to the following municipalities: Bantayan (P10 million); Daanbantayan (P10 million); Madridejos (P10 million); Medellin (P10 million); San Remigio (P20 million);Santa Fe (P10 million); Sogod (P20 million); Tabogon (P10 million); and Tabuelan (P10 million).

The provincial government of Cebu said the President also announced each of the local government unit-run hospitals will receive P5 million each and P20 million for a Department of Health-owned hospital in the province.

Marcos said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has deployed engineers to check on the status of the hospitals to determine if they can still accommodate patients after the recent earthquake.

The President also announced that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) will release P375 Local Government Support Fund (LGSF). Cebu will get the bulk of the fund with P150 million while the towns of San Remigio and Medellin as well as Bogo City, will each receive P75 million.

The national government, Marcos said, will continue to extend aid to help in the ongoing rehabilitation efforts in the quake-hit areas.

‘We will continue to monitor. We will continue to coordinate with the leaders-the local leadership to make sure that our rehabilitation and all the support we provide are going well,’ Marcos said.

Full arsenal

THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has mobilized its ‘full arsenal’ of disaster relief to assist families affected by the 6.9-magnitude earthquake that struck Cebu on Tuesday night.

Assistant Secretary Leo Quintilla, concurrent Officer-In-Charge of the DSWD’s National Resource and Logistics Management Bureau (NRLMB), said the agency is providing food, water, shelter, and psychosocial support while preparing early recovery interventions, including the Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) program.

As of the latest report, at least 4,000 families-approximately 20,000 individuals-remain displaced outside evacuation centers due to ongoing aftershocks.

‘We have deployed the full arsenal of the DSWD for the 6.9-magnitude earthquake. We are utilizing all available resources to both mitigate its effects and respond to the needs in the affected areas,’ he said.

The relief operations follow the President’s directive to immediately reach out to affected families and ensure the delivery of adequate assistance.

Immediately after the earthquake, Quintilla said the DSWD partnered with the Philippine Coast Guard to deliver ready-to-eat meals to Bogo City, one of the hardest-hit areas in Northern Cebu, despite uncertain road access. The department also deployed mobile command centers, water filtration trucks, water tankers, mobile kitchens, and food packs.

‘Our trucks are already on-site, including water trucks with filtration machines to ensure the availability of water, as the earthquake also affected the local water systems. Our water filtration kits are there, along with food packs and ready-to-eat meals [Rtef],’ Quintilla added.

The DSWD has initially released 6,800 family food packs (FFPs) and 2,000 ready-to-eat meals, with numbers expected to rise as operations continue. Cebu’s Visayas Disaster Resource Center is producing thousands of additional FFPs, ensuring an adequate supply for the entire province. Nationwide, the Department maintains 2.3 million prepositioned FFPs across hubs and distribution points.

Beyond immediate relief, the DSWD official also said that it is providing psychosocial support services to help survivors cope with trauma. Neighboring field offices have deployed social workers to assist families in evacuation centers.

Burial assistance will also be extended to families of earthquake fatalities. Early recovery efforts include the rollout of the ECT program, which provides flexible financial aid for essentials such as food and home repairs.

‘Aside from immediate response, we are preparing for the ECT, which allows families to use the cash for urgent needs like rebuilding shelters or buying food,’ Quintilla explained.