Field Office No. 10

Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 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).

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

4Ps 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.

HOW MANY HOUSEHOLDS WILL BENEFIT FROM 4Ps?

4Ps targets one million (1,000,000) households. In Northern Mindanao, the municipalities of Lopez Jaena and Bonifacio, Misamis Occidental, which are pilot areas of the Program, have received cash assistance since January 2008.

WHO CONDUCTS THE SELECTION PROCESS?

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:

P6,000.00 a year or P500 per month per household for health and nutrition expenses; and

P3,000 for one school year or 10 months or P300 per month per child for educational expenses. A maximum of three children per household is allowed.

A household with three qualified children shall have a subsidy of P1,400 per month or P15,000 annually as long as they comply with the conditions.

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 postnatal care, and be attended during childbirth by a skilled/trained health professionals;
• Parents or guardians must attend responsible parenthood sessions, mother's classes and parent effectiveness seminars;
• Children 0 to 5 years old must receive regular preventive health checkups and vaccines;
• Children aged 3 to 5 years old must attend day care or pre-school classes at least 85% of the time; and
• Children 6 to 14 years old must enroll in elementary or high school and attend at least 85% of the time

HOW DO THE 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 ANY MEASURES TO VERIFY COMPLIANCE TO THE CONDITIONS?

Yes. The DSWD in coordination with the Advisory Council composed of the Department of Education, Department of Health, Department of Interior and Local Government,  and National Anti-Poverty Commission and the Local Government Unit representatives at the national, regional and municipal levels will verify compliance every two months using monitoring tools developed for this purpose.

WHAT IF A HOUSEHOLD FAILS TO MEET THE CONDITIONS?

Non-compliance to the conditions will result in 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 development Program that invests in human capital. The beneficiaries must meet specific conditions 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.

WHAT ARE THE AREAS IN REGION 10 WHICH ARE INCLUDED IN THE PROGRAM?

The following municipalities and cities are part of 4Ps implementation: