DSWD to add 500K poor households to 4Ps after 1.4M beneficiaries ‘graduated’

By Ernie Delgado

LEGAZPI CITY --- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is set to add 500,000 new beneficiaries to its Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) this year.

Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian announced this development on Thursday, noting that some 1.4 million beneficiaries have exited the program since President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. took office.

Gatchalian said the beneficiaries who have graduated from receiving government assistance were evaluated as “self-sufficient”, indicating that their well-being has improved from “survival to subsistence to self-sufficiency.”

At the start of President Marcos’ administration in 2022, the 4Ps supported 4.4 million poor households, including farmers, fisherfolk, homeless families, indigenous peoples, and informal settlers identified through the DSWD’s Listahanan or Community-Based Monitoring System, according to the Philippine Development Plan.

“Thanks to the aggressive programs of our President, the poverty incidence in the country has decreased to 15 percent,” Gatchalian said during a press conference in Castilla, Sorsogon.

With poverty incidence of 15 percent, Gatchalian said the 4Ps should ideally serve 3.5 million households, but currently, only 3 million are enrolled in the program.

“At this point, we are down to 3 million because the lives of 1.4 million families have improved, allowing them to graduate from the program,” he said, speaking in Filipino and English.

“However, there are still families in need of assistance, so our goal is to restore the program’s coverage to 3.5 million,” he added.

Gatchalian emphasized that adding the 500,000 new beneficiaries will ensure that all poor families with qualified children receive support from the 4Ps.

“For the first time in the history of 4Ps, the number of beneficiaries has been reduced to only 3.5 million. This number will no longer increase because our poverty incidence has decreased to just 15 percent,” he noted.

Gatchalian said that the President’s goal is to bring the poverty incidence down to a single digit by the end of his term in 2028.

“As the percentage of the poor declines, the number of 4Ps beneficiaries will also decrease,” he added.

The 4Ps is the government’s flagship strategy for poverty reduction and a human capital investment initiative, established by RA 11310, or the 4Ps Act.

Under the law, conditional cash transfers are provided to “qualified poor households” for a maximum period of seven years, aimed at improving their health, nutrition, and education.

Each household receives P750 monthly for health needs, P300 for each child in elementary school, P500 for each child in junior high school, and P700 for each child in senior high school.

A maximum of three children per household can qualify for the monthly payouts for 10 months during the school year.

Households that meet the program’s requirements will receive a monthly rice subsidy of P600.

Households that have graduated from the 4Ps are referred to their local governments for additional assistance, such as the sustainable livelihood program.

Before ending his visit, Gatchalian administered the mass oath-taking of newly-enrolled 4Ps beneficiaries at the Municipal Gymnasium in Castilla. (PIA Bicol)