DSWD removes 1.3M 'no longer poor' beneficiaries from 4Ps
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development has removed around 1.3 million people from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program who are no longer considered "poor" and are no longer qualified to receive conditional cash transfers, the Palace said, citing information from DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo.
The delisting means the 4Ps program, which gives the poorest households cash incentives for sending their children to school and bringing them to health centers, can take in more beneficiaries.
"This frees up P15 billion for other qualified persons to replace them and now be included in the 4Ps program," Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said in a release by her office.
Cruz-Angeles was commenting on the 3rd Cabinet Meeting, where Tulfo made the report to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The president said he plans to hold Cabinet meetings often as his administration settles into the role.
Who can be 4Ps beneficiaries?
Among the potential beneficiaries of 4Ps are farmers and farm workers, homeless families and informal settlers and those from other vulnerable groups.
They must also be "classified as poor and near-poor" based on the poverty threshold issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority.
A family of five living on less than P12,082 a month falls under that threshold, based on the 2021 poverty threshold.
Families in 4Ps should also have members below 18 years old or who are pregnant at the time of registration, and should be willing to comply with conditions like attending classes at least 85% of the time per month.
Cleaning up list
Tulfo previously said the DSWD was validating its list of 4Ps beneficiaries, adding some households had continued to receive subsidies even after their children had already graduated from school.
"You know the policy, you know the requirements, if your children are already graduates in school, you have to return the cash cards because you are no longer qualified to receive assistance from the government," he said as he hinted at potential legal charges.
Aside from dsitributing 4Ps funds, DSWD was also in charge of giving out financial aid — often referred to as ayuda — during the lockdowns earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The department will also implement a 500-peso targeted cash transfer program to help the country's poorest families cushion the effects of rising prices of fuel and food will start soon. The aid program will cover around 12.4 million beneficiaries and will run for six months.
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