MANILA, Dec. 23 -- Since its launch in August 2023, the Department of Social Welfare and Development's (DSWD) Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program (TBTP) has benefitted a total of 344,998 individuals, including college students from poor households, elementary learners struggling or non-readers, as well as their parents and guardians.

"This figure reflects the DSWD and President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s commitment to ensuring that all sectors, from children, youth, to parents, will not be left behind in development while also providing cash assistance in exchange for the work or tasks they do in the program," Undersecretary Edu Punay of the DSWD's Innovations and Program Development Group (IPDG) said in a statement on Monday.

From 2023 to 2025...