‘What qualifies to be a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)?’ many ask. It is as if people are boggled by the fact that there are some non-poor households who are members of the country’s conditional cash transfer program. So we go back to the question, “what qualifies a family to stay as beneficiary of the 4Ps?”

Since 2021, the 4Ps, a poverty-alleviation program implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), has been delisting and graduating family-households who are no longer POOR. This is pursuant to the guidelines set under the Republic Act 11310, an act institutionalizing the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program which was signed in 2019.

Under the law, all household-beneficiaries will be subjected to social case management to facilitate and engage them in a mutually agreed intervention plan to support their compliance with the program conditions and achieve an improved level of well-being towards self-sufficiency which they will work on within the seven (7) year period of coverage.

Once a family reaches Level 3 or Self-Sufficiency level, they will be recommended for graduation or exit from the program. An HIP or Household Intervention Plan will be facilitated by the case manager to ensure that the family will not slide back to poverty.

“For over a decade, we have seen hundreds of families who have exemplified an improved well-being throughout their stay as beneficiaries of the 4Ps. Many of them have already exited from the program and are now living a successful life,” says DSWD-9 Regional Director Riduan P. Hadjimuddin.

Pacheco Family from Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay started in the program as one of the poorest in the municipality. Emma Pacheco was a solo earner at the time when she was assessed by the DSWD in 2015. She was working for a private household to make ends meet and provide the needs of her daughter.

Fast forward to 2023, Pacheco family was assessed again and found out that their level of well-being has already improved with an average monthly income of 36,000 pesos. The family was recommended to exit from the program.

Pacheco Family from Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay in their improved home

 

Graduation ceremonies have been conducted since 2021 to facilitate the exit of the beneficiaries. Local government units and other partners of the 4Ps also provide sustainable “pabaon packages” for exiting households to ensure their continuous success.

As of to date, the DSWD has already delisted 53,644 family-beneficiaries. 25,417 of which have reached self-sufficiency while 28,227 others exited due to natural attrition or the household no longer has eligible dependents.

A household-beneficiary will exit from the program for any of the following reasons:

The last monitored child in the household turns 19 years old;

The last monitored child in the household finishes high school;

The household reaches the 7-year duration in the Program;

The household is no longer poor, based on the latest assessment thru the adopted standardized targeting system;

The household voluntary waives its membership from the program; or

The household commits offenses wherein the sanction is delisting, subject to the standards developed by the DSWD.