The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) together with the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) conducted the fourth National Children’s Congress (NCC) on November 16-21, as part of the National Children’s Month celebration. Around 50 children beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program coming from the 17 regions nationwide were gathered to participate in the activity.

These children-beneficiary participants are the top three winners of the Search for Exemplary Child of each region. The National Exemplary Child 2015 of Pantawid Pamilya will be chosen from the roster of participants during the congress.

With the theme, “Batang Pilipino, Tuloy ang Pagbabago”, it aims to highlight the positive impact of the Pantawid Pamilya on the lives of the household beneficiaries more importantly in promoting the rights and welfare of the children.

“We recognize the role of our children in development and their voices are equally important to us. We will not only listen to their stories but we will make sure that their recommendations are put to action,” said DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman.

The NCC is an annual gathering of Pantawid Pamilya children-beneficiaries. Launched in October 2012, the children will discuss the issues that directly affect them (most especially on their health and education) and recommend appropriate solutions for these. The recommendations will be presented to the public as well as to the legislators.

One of the greatest accomplishments of the NCC is the lobbying for the expansion of the age coverage of Pantawid Pamilya.

Pantawid Pamilya is a human development program of the national government that invests in the health and education of poor households primarily of children aged 0-18. It aims to break the vicious cycle of poverty. To date, there are 4.3 million households registered with more than 10 million children aged 0-18 .