MANILA, Philippines — The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps is not a dole-out, but a program to break intergenerational poverty, the Department of Social Welfare and Development maintained.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said yesterday that 4Ps is one of the agency’s biggest development programs.
“It is not an ayuda (assistance). 4Ps is designed to lift people from poverty and this poverty will not be inherited from one generation to another,” Gatchalian said in a statement.
He said the government has an obligation to help people in need, especially poor families, which are the beneficiaries of the conditional cash transfer.
Program beneficiaries must meet conditionalities such as sending their children to school and mothers availing themselves of maternal health care.
“We should not look at social welfare as bad. We have repeatedly said that we have development functions. That is the long-term solution. They are given financial assistance, but with conditions: attend family development sessions, children must be in school. We also have health care intervention available,” Gatchalian said.
The Marcos administration has been aggressive in ensuring that exiting or graduating 4Ps beneficiaries will not slide back to poverty through various interventions, including the conduct of nationwide job fairs, he added.
Gatchalian said that as of April 30, a total of 860,471 household-beneficiaries have exited from the 4Ps program after reaching an improved level of well-being.
These households were identified as self-sufficient, according to social welfare and development indicators, making them eligible to exit the program on or before reaching the seven-year maximum stay.
Gatchalian has assured graduating 4Ps beneficiaries that the DSWD will continue monitoring their status in coordination with their respective local government units for post-services interventions.