Quezon City – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said that it already started to monitor the health compliance of the program beneficiaries under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, popularly known as the 4Ps.

In a guidance note issued by the National Project Management Office (NPMO) of the 4Ps, the resumption of health compliance monitoring strikes a fine balance between measures that the program implements to prevent the stakeholders from contracting the deadly disease and the goal of keeping the program beneficiaries healthy.

This is also aligned to the Department of Health’s (DOH) guidelines on the continuous provision of essential health services during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The NPMO, however, reiterated that it will make sure that minimum public health standards and protocols are strictly followed, both by the beneficiaries and those involved in monitoring the compliance.

It can be recalled that in March 2020, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rolando Joselito Bautista issued “force majeure” that suspended the monitoring of all the program conditions as a precautionary measure and to avert the further spread of the deadly disease. It also allowed the program beneficiaries to receive the maximum cash grants intended to them and help them sustain their basic needs amid the pandemic.

The NPMO added that not all beneficiaries will be subjected to health compliance monitoring as it is conducting an assessment to determine which of the facilities can safely provide essential health services and monitor compliance of the beneficiaries. With the continuation of health compliance monitoring, program beneficiaries who are pregnant or with children aged 14 and below are encouraged to coordinate with their respective health center or assigned City/ Municipal Link to assist them.

For areas falling under high risk areas, as classified by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for Emerging Diseases, in cases where compliance monitoring is not feasible based on the actual scenarios, DSWD Field Offices may request for the declaration of “force majeure”  subject for further evaluation and approval.   

4Ps is the national poverty reduction strategy of the national government, promulgated into law last April of 2019. It invests in the health, nutrition and education of poor households for an improved well-being.  It is implemented nationwide with more than 4 million household beneficiaries.

4ps beneficiaries are entitled to receive cash subsidies provided that the conditions on health, nutrition and education are followed. This includes sending and keeping their school-aged children in school; pre and post natal care for mothers; regular and preventive check-ups for children aged 5 and below; deworming for children aged 14 and below; and attendance to the monthly conduct of the Family Development Session (FDS).

In related news, the NPMO also announced that it has already started releasing the educational grants of children who are enrolled and have started classes. Meanwhile, for those children covered by DepEd’s memo extending the schedule of school opening to 5 October 2020, will receive their grants once classes have officially resumed. ###