What is Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)?

4Ps is a poverty reduction strategy that provides grants to extremely poor households to improve their health, nutrition and education particularly of children aged 0-14. 4Ps has dual objectives:

* Social Assistance – to provide cash assistance to the poor to alleviate their needs (short term poverty alleviation); and

* Social Development – to break the intergenerational poverty cycle through investments in human capital.

It is patterned after the successful Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Programs in Latin America and Africa. CCT has been cited as one of the key factors behind the positive socio-economic outcomes achieved by Brazil where 11 million families are currently enrolled in the program, and other countries.

Who are the beneficiaries of 4Ps?

The poorest households in the country selected through a uniform, objective and transparent set of criteria.

What are the criteria in the selection of beneficiaries?

There are 3 steps in identifying the beneficiaries:

Step 1 Provinces were selected using the following criteria:

a. 20 poorest provinces based on the 2006 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES);

b. Poorest provinces in 6 regions without a province in the list of 20 poorest provinces; and

c. 5 citizens in the National Capital Region, 2 cities in the Visayas, 2 cities in Mindanao and 1 from Cordillera.

Step 2 The selection of the poorest municipalities from the above provinces based on Small Area Estimates (SAE) and FIES where saturation surveys of households are being conducted.

Step 3 Computerized selection of the poorest households based on a ranking system using Proxy-Means Test Developed for the program.

The Proxy-Means Test assesses socio-economic characteristics such as: ownership of assets/appliances; type of housing unit; level of educational attainment of household heads; and access to water and sanitation facilities.

How many households will benefit from 4Ps?

4Ps targets 321,000 households. 6,000 pilot households from the municipalities of Sibagat and Esperanza in Agusan del Sur, Lopez-Jaena and Bonifacio in Misamis Occidental and Pasay and Caloocan cities in the NCR have received cash assistance since January 2008.

The DSWD selects the beneficiaries based on the selection system developed for the program.

Do local chief executives or barangay officials participate in the selection of beneficiaries?

NO. However, concerned LGUs assist DSWD staff in the conduct of community assemblies which are part of the program process and procedures to validate potential and final beneficiaries.

What does 4Ps offer?

4Ps provides cash grants to the beneficiaries such as:

3,000 for one school year or 10 months or 300 /month per child for educational expenses. A maximum of 3 children per household is allowed.

A with 3 qualified children shall have a subsidy of 1,400 per month or 15,000 annually as long as they comply with the conditionalities.

What conditions need to be complied with to remain in the program?

To avail of the cash grants, beneficiaries should comply with the following conditions:

* Pregnant women must get pre- and post-natal care, and be attended during childbirth by a skilled/trained health professional.

* Parents or guardians must attend responsible parenthood sessions, mother’s classes, and parent effectiveness seminars.

* Children 0-5 years old must receive regular preventive health check-ups and vaccines.

* Children aged 3-5 years old must attend day care or pre-school classes at least 85% of the time; and

* Children 6-14 years old must enroll in elementary or high school and attend at least 85% of the time.

How do beneficiaries get their money?

The monthly cash grants shall be received by the most responsible person in the household, usually the mother, through a Landbank cash card.

Are there measures to verify compliance to the conditionalities?

YES. The DSWD in coordination with the Advisory Council composed of DepEd, DOH, DILG, NAPC and the LGU representatives at the national, regional and municipal levels will verify compliance every 2 months using monitoring tools developed for this purpose.

What if a household fails to meet the conditionalities?

Non-compliance to the conditions will result the suspension of cash grants or dropping from the program.

Isn’t this a form of dole-out considering that cash is directly given?

NO. The program is not a dole-out. It is a developmental program that invests in human capital. The beneficiaries must meet specific conditionalities before they can get the cash assistance. 4Ps enhances the role of parents and helps them accomplish their duties and responsibilities to their children. It encourages them to invest in the future, their own, and those of their children.

How long will the beneficiaries receive the cash grants?

Each household-beneficiary will receive the cash grants for at most, 5 years.

How much budget is allotted for the program?

For 2008, 2.1 billion has been allotted for the 321,000 household-beneficiaries.

For 2009 to 2013, 5 billion per year is needed for the same 321,000 household-beneficiaries.

Isn’t the program just a response to address the present rice crisis and to prevent mass action?

NO. Preparation for the program started in 2006. it was approved by President Arroyo and the Cabinet in March 2007, more than 1 year before the present rice crisis broke out.

Are the target beneficiaries of 4Ps similar to the beneficiaries of other DSWD pro-poor programs like the Family Access Card (FAC) for rice?

NO. The target beneficiaries of the 4Ps are not identified by the local government chief executives. The beneficiaries are identified through a survey and selected thru a Proxy-Means Test. They come from poor provinces, whereas the beneficiaries of the FAC come from the 16 cities and one municipality in the National Capital Region.

Does the DSWD have the manpower for this big Project?

YES and our social workers are capable and well trained in the different aspects of this important project. There are also Independent Advisory and Monitoring Committees composed of representatives from the private sector as well as Grievance Committees at the municipal, regional and national levels to help ensure that the program is properly implemented and all transactions are transparent.