4Ps beneficiaries in Zambales trained in digital finance

A total of 250 members of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) underwent digital financial literacy training at the Botolan People’s Plaza in Zambales on 17 July 2025.

According to Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian, the digital financial literacy training was intended to prepare participants to use mobile phones in receiving their 4Ps financial assistance.

The event, dubbed “Kinabukasang e-Panalo, Pugay-Tagumpay na Tunay,” facilitated the inclusion of the 250 program beneficiaries in the province into the country’s digital financial system through the provision of mobile phones from the agency’s partner, Globe Telecom.

The selected 4Ps beneficiaries, which included members of indigenous peoples (IP) communities and solo parents, attended a series of digital financial literacy sessions on 15 and 16 July to improve their knowledge and skills in navigating digital financial platforms.

The DSWD partnered with the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Foundation, Ayala Foundation, G-Xchange, Inc., and Globe Telecom in the said activity.

Gatchalian said the activity will provide participants a better understanding of how to use digital currency, specifically GCash, to make digital transactions.

“Hindi madali, pero ginawa at nagawa ninyo at iyan ang tunay na panalo,” he added.

The DSWD chief said the participating beneficiaries opted to migrate their modes of receiving grants from basic depository accounts to digital wallets.

Simultaneously, 4Ps also celebrated the Pugay-Tagumpay graduation ceremony of 160 exiting household-beneficiaries from Zambales who achieved the self-sufficiency level of well-being.

Part of the ceremony was the formal endorsement, through the symbolic handover of case files, of beneficiaries by the DSWD to their respective local government units (LGUs) through their Local Social Welfare and Development Offices (LSWDOs).

The formal endorsement to the LGUs of Zambales aims to ensure continued support for families transitioning beyond the 4Ps to sustain their level of well-being and prevent them from sliding back into poverty.

Undersecretary Vilma Cabrera of the Conditional Cash Transfer Group (CCTG), Assistant Secretary for Operations under CCTG Marites Maristela, Assistant Secretary for Support to Operations and New Initiatives under CCTG Elaine Fallarcuna, and Regional Director Venus Rebuldela of DSWD Field Office 3–Central Luzon were present during the activity.

Local officials present at the event were Zambales 1st District Representative Doris Maniquiz and Botolan Mayor Jun Omar Ebdane.