THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) yesterday said more than 300,000 poor families will graduate from the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) program by the end of the year while over 700,000 households who were earlier delisted pending reassessment will be retained.
DSWD assistant secretary and spokesman Romel Lopez said there is no date yet as to when the 4Ps graduation would be, but it is expected before the year ends.
Lopez assured the graduating families that the government would continue to assist them in other ways.
“Graduating from 4Ps does not mean that the government will stop helping them. Yes, they are exiting the program, but there are still programs that would help reintegrate to society,” he said in mixed English and Filipino.
Lopez said those who would graduate would be endorsed to local government units (LGUs) for possible assistance, endorsed to the DSWD’s Sustainable Livelihood Program to help them start up a small business or ensure them of steady employment and source of income, and will continue to be monitored by the DSWD to ensure they do not return to poverty.
He added children who are now in college would be endorsed to the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) for possible scholarship grants.
The DSWD’s 4Ps list is based, among others, on its “Listahan 3,” which was compiled before and during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country. It was completed after the pandemic.
Listahanan 3 is the DSWD’s registry of poor households in the country.
Former DSWD secretary Erwin Tulfo had previously ordered a review and cleanup of the 4Ps list of beneficiaries who are no longer eligible for the program, resulting in the initial list of 1.1 million potential graduating families.
Lopez said a second assessment was conducted, where the DSWD included the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the poor households as among the factors for consideration.
4Ps National Program Management Office (NPMO) Director Gemma Gabuya said the program utilizes the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) or “Listahanan” to identify the profile of poor beneficiaries.
Inclusion in the Listahanan, she clarified, does not guarantee automatic inclusion to the 4Ps.
She said that based on the result of the reassessment of the 1.158 million 4Ps households using the Social Welfare and Development Indicators (SWDI) from July to September this year, 761,150 families are “not yet capable” to exit the program, while 339,660 beneficiaries were already under the self-sufficiency level.
“Isa sa main factors is the COVID kasi maraming nawalan ng trabaho. Alam naman natin na ang mga 4Ps, ang mga trabaho nila hindi naman talaga matataas iyung kanilang mga income (One of the main factors is the COVID because many lost their jobs. We know that 4Ps members, do not have huge income),” Gabuya said.
The 4Ps is a human capital development program of the DSWD that aims to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty among poor households by investing in the health, nutrition, and education of poor households.
In 2019, the program was institutionalized as a regular program of the DSWD and has been identified as the national government’s poverty reduction strategy through Republic Act 11310 (4Ps Law).
Under the 4Ps law, program beneficiaries will now only be covered for a maximum of seven years and will be closely monitored using the social case management process.
Lopez said appealed to the public not to believe or be swayed by candidates who promise their inclusion in the 4Ps in exchange for their votes, stressing that inclusion in the program is based on the assessment of a DSWD personnel and the department’s Listahanan 3, not on any candidate.
“Sa atin pong mga kababayan, kahit sino pong mangako sa inyo na kayo’y mapapasama sa 4Ps program, malamang hindi ho magkatotoo ‘yan. Hindi ho magkatotoo ‘yan (To our kababayans, whoever promises to you that you will be included in the 4Ps program, that is not true),” Lopez said.
He added that 4Ps cannot and will not be used for electioneering or any partisan political activities.
