MANILA — Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Wednesday revealed that around 700,000 families are set to “graduate” from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in August after making significant improvements in their lives.
Speaking at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay media forum, Gatchalian stressed that while the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) aims to support the “poorest of the poor,” beneficiaries must be removed from 4Ps once they have overcome extreme poverty.
With an annual budget of P200 billion, half of which is allocated to 4Ps, the program currently benefits 4.4 million families and it is a welcome announcement that 700,000 families no longer need to be included in the 4Ps come August.
“Continuously, beneficiaries graduate from the program. We’d like to think nobody will (qualify) for the program anymore but we have to admit that in 2019, there was a supervening event. Many of our countrymen went back to poverty,” Gatchalian said, citing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the program has “system loss,” like cases of beneficiaries gambling their cash aid, he pointed out that it also has success stories.
Gatchalian cited the case of Alexis Castillo Alegado, from Paoay, Ilocos Norte who topped the Civil Engineer Licensure Examination in May and whose family benefits from the 4Ps.
At present, the DSWD is reviewing the 4Ps program which was a brainchild of former president now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, but Gatchalian clarified that the review is not aimed at discontinuing the program.
“No program is perfect. I am meeting with our economic managers to retool the program which has been running for 13 to 14 years now. We are bringing in experts,” he assured reporters at the Kapihan.
Food stamp
In another development, the pilot implementation of a groundbreaking food stamp program is set to commence, benefiting 3,000 families with tap cards loaded with P3,000 worth of food credits.
“We made some innovations. Firstly, this would be digital, not a voucher. So we are working with the World Food Program,” Gatchalian told the Kapihan, adding that its pilot testing would last six months and that families provided with “supplemental” food would be using tap cards.
The tap cards can be used to purchase food from a select list of grocery stores accredited by the DSWD and Kadiwa Centers. “You will choose from a prescribed basket of food which are nutritious and balanced,” he said.
The baskets aim to include 50 percent carbohydrates and 20 percent protein.
To support the pilot implementation, the government secured a $3-million grant from the Asian Development Bank and its initial phase will be rolled out in a former conflict area in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, as well as in disaster-affected areas like Caraga and isolated mountainous regions.
