DSWD to distribute subsidies for families in 4Ps program

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The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will start this month to distribute the P350 per month subsidy for poor families registered with the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) who have babies aged zero to two years old and pregnant mothers.

DSWD Assistant secretary and spokeswoman Irene Dumlao said the guidelines for the implementation of the 4Ps First 1,000 Days (F1KD) have already been signed and released by Secretary Rex Gatchalian on January 6 and are contained in the Department’s Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 1 series of 2025.

“Through the provision of the F1KD grant for qualified beneficiaries, we will be able to improve the health-seeking behavior of our 4Ps beneficiaries and prioritize the needs of young children to prevent stunting and malnutrition,” Dumlao said.

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In 2024, the DSWD estimated that  at present there are around 650,000 pregnant and lactating women.

The 4Ps F1KD provides a monthly P350 cash grant to female 4Ps beneficiaries who are pregnant and households that have children from zero to two years old to cover essential health and nutrition expenses during this critical period of a child’s life or the first 1000 days.

Dumlao said the 4Ps F1KD grants have conditionalities aligned with the implementation of Republic Act No. 11148 or the Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act and existing protocols set by the Department of Health (DOH) which include accessing prenatal services at DOH-accredited health facilities and tracking pregnancy and receiving ante-natal care services.

The conditionalities also include child birthing or delivery at a DOH-accredited health facility, attending postnatal visits, participating in counseling sessions, and obtaining micronutrient supplements and immunizations, among others.

To ensure compliance, concerned health facilities will determine whether or not the target beneficiaries are compliant with the 4Ps F1KD conditions which will be the basis for the release of the monthly cash grants.

For 4Ps F1KD living in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA), the concerned health worker shall determine measures to ensure that needed health and nutrition interventions are provided promptly to the concerned beneficiaries. The beneficiaries affected by this circumstance will then be deemed compliant with the 4Ps F1KD conditions and be eligible to receive the cash grants.

Gatchalian, emphasized during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon program, that the F1KD is not a doleout but a conditional cash grant just like the 4Ps.

He said both 4Ps and the F1KD aims to help household-beneficiaries, especially those living in far-flung areas, to access services for education and health.

Gatchalian also defended the F1KD program which he said does not and will not make a person dependent on the program.

“The grant is too minimal to prompt one to be pregnant or have young children, but rather this helps defray the costs of commuting or going to health centers,” he said.

Launched in 2008 and institutionalized by Republic Act (RA) 11310 in 2019, the 4Ps is the national poverty reduction strategy and human capital investment program that provides conditional cash transfer to poor households for a maximum period of seven years to improve their children’s health, nutrition and education.

At present, a 4Ps beneficiary-family receives daycare and elementary grant of P300 per child per month for 10 months, conditional on their child’s school attendance; P500 per child per month for 10m onths for junior high school with the same conditionality on their child’s school attendance and P700 per child per month for 10 months for senior high school with the same conditionality; and P750 per month per household for 12 months provided that their children aged 2-14 years old under growth development and monitoring; deworming and attend family development sessions.

There are more than 4.4 million 4Ps beneficiaries at present.

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