DSWD rejects calls to scrap 4Ps: It's proven in fight vs. poverty

GMA Network

a day ago

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has brushed aside calls to abolish the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in favor of lump sum cash grants for beneficiaries to start their own business.
"Walang reason na talagang ii-scrap o buwagin ang programa kasi napatunayan that the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program can contribute para bumaba ang ating poverty incidence," Gemma Gabuya, DSWD 4Ps program director, said in a report Wednesday by Dano Tingcungco on Unang Balita.
(There's no reason to scrap the program because it has been proven that the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program can contribute to reducing poverty incidence.)
The 4Ps is the government's national poverty reduction strategy and a human capital investment program that provides conditional cash transfers to poor households for a maximum period of seven years to improve the health, nutrition, and education of children aged 0 to 18.
Earlier, Senator Erwin Tulfo suggested that the 4Ps conditional cash transfer program should be replaced with a lump sum livelihood fund, saying some 4Ps beneficiaries prefer livelihood capital instead of monthly cash transfers.
"'Yung pang-isang taon nilang matatanggap, ibigay mo na nang lump sum, at bahala ka na d'yan. Pero bago mo bigyan sila ng budget, kailangan alam nila, sabihin nila kung ano'ng gagawin sa pera na 'yon, at may training po sila," Tulfo said.
(Give them the equivalent of one year's worth of assistance as a lump sum. It will be up to them what to do with the money. Before giving away the money, however, beneficiaries must declare how they plan to use it, and undergo appropriate training.)
The DSWD projects that the 4Ps program would help some 3 million Filipinos get out of poverty. The program is more than about cash dole outs, the DSWD said, as part of the conditions to receive the benefits is that the household's children go to school and that they take regular visits to health centers.
Education, health, and things taught through the Family Development Sessions (FDS) are the keys to break the cycle of poverty, according to the DSWD.
"Mahirap ang one-time, kasi 'di mo ma-assure na tuloy-tuloy ang pag-aaral ng bata. Pero at least ngayon [sa 4Ps], susundan mo eh, susundan mo at talagang made-develop mo 'yung... behavior. Ito naman yung purpose ng 4Ps eh, yung behavior change. Na talaga yung mga magulang, kahit na mahirap, mabigyan lang ng pagkakataon na makapag-aral ang mga bata, talagang magsusumikap," she added.
(A one-time grant makes it hard to ensure a child's continued schooling. But with 4Ps, the progress is monitored, and behavior is developed. That's the focus of 4Ps—behavior change. Some families are inspired to work harder just to keep their children in school.)
For Tulfo, providing startup capital for small businesses could offer a more sustainable path out of poverty as compared to monthly handouts which may foster dependency.
Kate Hillary Condez, whose family is a 4Ps beneficiary, shared that the program has been instrumental in helping her overcome hardships due to poverty. Her mother enrolled in the 4Ps program in 2019 because she was jobless and wanted to send her children to school.
"Sa education po namin, binibili ni mama ng gamit namin sa school 'pag may natatanggap po siya. Sa health naman po namin, 'yung gamot, nakakabili siya ng ibang kailangan namin sa bahay like yung mga bigas po," said Kate.
(For our education, my mother would use money from 4Ps to buy our school supplies. For health, she was able to buy medicine and other household needs like rice.)
Kate said the family also benefited from sessions that taught them how to better manage the cash grants and become responsible citizens.
"Nagtuturo po yung mga municipal ng ibang paraan kung paano magagamit cash grant. And tinuturuan din nila beneficiary na maging aktibong mamamayan—hindi lang po in terms of education, in terms din ng pagiging huwarang pamilya," she added.
(They teach different ways to use the cash grant. Beneficiaries are also taught to be active citizens—not just in terms of education, but also in becoming model families.)
She has since graduated with a degree in Office Administration and now plans to help her family, knowing that the 4Ps support is limited to a maximum of seven years.
For the DSWD, the goal is to empower families like Kate's and guide them out of poverty—not just through money, but through sustained behavioral and developmental change.
During his fourth State of the Nation Address last July 28, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. directed the inclusion of homeless individuals in 4Ps and other DSWD programs.
On Monday, House Deputy Minority Leader and ML party-list Representative Leila de Lima defended the 4Ps program, saying its beneficiaries are no freeloaders.
De Lima, one of the authors of Republic Act 11310 or the law that institutionalized 4Ps, issued the statement in response to Tulfo's statement that the 4Ps should be scrapped and replaced by livelihood assistance instead. — VDV, GMA Integrated News