1,129 partner-beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in Butuan City took part in the Katumanan 2025 Graduation cum Exit Ceremony on October 20, 2025, at Robinsons Place Butuan.
These households graduated from the program after achieving the Well-being status of Self-Sufficiency in their living conditions.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office Caraga Regional Director Mari-Flor Dollaga congratulated all 4Ps graduates and reassured them that graduation does not mean they are on their own. According to Dollaga, DSWD Caraga will always be ready to assist whenever they need help.
“Kung saka-sakali man po meron man kayong mga pangagailangan na pwede po naming ibigay sa inyo [kasi] sa loob ng programa at serbisyo ng DSWD, ayaw mo pag duha-duha. Duol sa amoa kay kami, handa po kaming tumulong sa inyo,” she said.
Moreover, the celebration is also part of DSWD Secretary Rex Gachalian’s directive, under the guidance of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., following the Bagong Pilipinas movement.
“This gathering is also part of the directive of our DSWD Secretary Rex Gachalian, under the exemplary leadership of our President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who both envision a Bagong Pilipinas where no Filipino is left behind,” Dir. Dollaga added.
Butuan City’s Huwaran Pantawid Pamilya winner Dominica C. Penpiña, a solo parent of three, shared her testimony on the impact of the 4Ps program on her family.
“Mga ginikanan, usa ka dahilan (ang 4Ps) nga nitabang kanako nga napagraduate ko ang akong kamaguwangan sa iyang pag-eskwela sa CSU nga usa ka Magna Cum Laude. Year 2019, ni graduate ang akong anak sa CSU. Salamat sa Ginoo ug salamat sa tabang sa 4Ps nga ang kalamposan nga iyang nakab-ot, kalamposan usab namo nga iyang pamilya,” Penpiña said.
Partners from the Butuan City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) and other LGU of Butuan City officials attended the event. Among those present was Butuan City Mayor Hon. Lawrence Lemuel Fortun, who emphasized three aspects of the 4Ps program as he sees it: opportunity, belief in oneself, and helping oneself.
“Ang opportunity gihatag sa DSWD. Depende unsaon nato pag gamit sa opportunity. Kinahanglan lang tan-awon nato siya isip oportunidad. Number 2 is belief in ourselves nga naa tay kapasidad na gamiton ang usa ka oportunidad nga niabot sa ato. Ug ikatulo, ato gyud tabangan ang atong kaugalingon ug kamo (graduates) gayod ang ehemplo niini. We want our policies to be as enabling as possible,” Mayor Fortun said.
Meanwhile, 4Ps Caraga Division Chief Crislea Celeste reminded the graduates that they are the program’s end product and that they symbolize everything the program strives to achieve.
“Ang product sa 4Ps, kamo. Maong gitawag siya’g Katumanan kay kamo ang katumanan sa gisabutan. Dapat makita sa inyoha nga kamo gyud ang nawong sa produkto sa 4Ps,” DC Celeste remarked.
4Ps partner-beneficiaries took part in the Katumanan Graduation cum Exit Ceremony after achieving a Self-Sufficient level of well-being based on the Social Welfare and Development Indicator (SWDI) assessment. The “Katumanan,” a Bisaya word for “fulfillment” or “realization,” is conducted annually and celebrates 4Ps families’ victory in the effort to end the intergenerational cycle of poverty.
