The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) shared the notable progress in the implementation of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) during the Media Forum with 4Ps National Program Manager Director Gemma B. Gabuya, hosted by Assistant Secretary for Strategic Communications Romel M. Lopez and Traditional Media Service Director Aldrine Fermin, on February 1, 2024.
As of December 31, 2023, the 4Ps continues to support 4,177,476 active beneficiaries, with 870,865 newly-registered households from March 2023 to July 2023. During the interview, Director Gabuya mentioned that the registration of new household beneficiaries was suspended as it processed the reinstatement of those that were tagged as non-poor under the Listahanan 3.
It can be recalled that there were interest groups who expressed their dissatisfaction with the Listahanan results, stating that the assessment was conducted before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Director Gabuya likewise shared that the reinstatement of the said beneficiaries is a result of a more thorough assessment using the Social Welfare and Development Indicator (SWDI) tool. “Sa awa ng Diyos, dahil sa minadali natin, nakapag reactivate tayo ng 793,414 beneficiaries na talagang masasabing kong na-save natin, ibinalik natin, kasi nakikita natin na marami pa silang vulnerabilites. (By God’s grace, because of our swift action, we were able to reactivate 793,414 beneficiaries, we allowed them to return because we know that these households still face many vulnerabilities)“ Dir..Gabuya stated.
This approach provides a nuanced perspective, emphasizing the differences between SWDI and Listahanan. The SWDI serves as a more comprehensive and dynamic tool that enables the Program to make informed decisions on whether to exit or retain a household from the 4Ps.
The DSWD emphasizes that only households assessed as poor under Listahanan qualify for 4Ps benefits, following the mandate of Republic Act 11310 or the 4Ps Act. To be eligible, households must have children aged 18 and below or members who are pregnant during the survey. Currently, the approved budget for the year 2024 only covers 4.4 million households.
The 4Ps is the national poverty reduction strategy and a human capital investment program that provides conditional cash transfer to qualified household-beneficiaries. It is a rights-based program that seeks to enable poor Filipino households to meet human development goals, particularly on health and nutrition, and education outcomes, to eventually break the intergenerational cycle of poverty.